THE
D. Brent Pogue
COLLECTION
Masterpieces of
United States Coinage
Part II
September 30, 2015 • New York City
Stack’s Bowers Galleries - Sotheby’s
THE
D. Brent Pogue
COLLECTION
Masterpieces of United States Coinage
Part II
September 30, 2015 • New York City
Stack’s Bowers Galleries - Sotheby’s
General Auction Information
Stack’s Bowers Galleries
Tel: 949.748.4849
Fax: 949.253.4091
Email: pogue@stacksbowers.com
StacksB owers . com
Sotheby’s
Tel: 212.894.1193
Fax: 212.606.7042
Email: coins@sothebys.com
Sothebys.com
How to Bid
Before the Live Auction
There are several ways to bid prior to the start of the live auction.
Fax/Mail Bid Sheet
Use the enclosed bid sheet and mail or fax it to us. If sending by mail, please allow sufficient time
for the postal service.
Mail: Att. Auction Department Fax: 949.253.4091
Stack’s Bowers Galleries
1063 McGawAve.
Irvine, CA 92614
United States
Phone
Telephone Stack’s Bowers Galleries at 949.748.4849
Internet
View additional images and add items to your personal tracking list. You may also place bids and
check their status in real time.Visit our website at vwwstacksbowers.com.
During the Live Auction
Attend in Person
Auction Event: Sotheby’s
1334 York Avenue
New York, NY 10021
Live Online Bidding
Stack’s Bowers Galleries will offer live online bidding for this auction. We strongly recommend that you
register to bid at www.stacksbowers.com at least 48 hours before the start of the auction.
Live Bidding by Phone
If you wish to bid by phone during the live auction, please register your interest at least 48 hours prior to
the start of the auction. Stack’s Bowers Galleries will ask for the lot numbers you are interested in with your
complete contact information. Stack’s Bowers Galleries will call you during the auction and you can place
bids with our representative in real time. If you wish to arrange live bidding by phone, contact Customer
Service at 949.748.4849 or email pogue@stacksbowers.com.
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ii STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
The D. Brent Pogue
Collection
Masterpieces of
United States Coinage
Part II
Sotheby’s, New York
7:00 pm
September 30, 2015
Lot Viewing:
ANA World’s Fair of Money: (On Display) August 11-15, 2015
(Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, IL)
California Office: August 24-September 11, 2015 {by appointment only)
Long Beach Expo: (On Display) September 17-18, 2015
(Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, CA)
New York City Office: September 21-25, 2015 {by appointment only)
On Exhibit:
Sotheby’s New York: September 26-30, 2015
Auction Location:
Sotheby’s
1 334 York Avenue
New York, NY 10021
Lot Pickup:
By special arrangement only
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
Stack s Bowers Galleries Sotheby’s
Greg Roberts, CEO
GRoberts@StacksBowers.com
Brian Kendrella, President
Contact Brian for post sale services
BKendrella@StacksBowers. com
Q. David Bowers, Founder
Contact David for research inquiries
QBowers@StacksBowers.com
Harvey Stack, Founder
HStack@StacksB owers . com
Lawrence R. Stack, Founder
Contact Lawrence for numismatic inquiries
LStack@StacksBowers.com
Christine Karstedt, Executive Vice President
Contact Christine for all general inquiries
CKarstedt@StacksB owers .com
Andrew Glassman, CFO
Contact Andrew for accounting/ credit inquiries
and post sale services
AGlassman@StacksBowers. com
Credits and Acknowledgements
The primary credit goes to D. Brent Pogue, not only for building this spectacular collection with the
support of his father and family, but for his deep interest in the provenance of the specimens he acquired. The
descriptions are by John Kraljevich, the lead cataloger and researcher, with Q. David Bowers serving as editor
and furnishing introductory material, research and additional commentary. Brian Kendrella fills the role of
administrative liaison handling the numerous details of bringing this collection to market. Christine Karstedt
serves as catalog coordinator and program director for the D. Brent Pogue Collection and invites general
inquiries on this and upcoming Pogue events. Lawrence R. Stack ordered the sale, contributed to the pedigree
research and serves as valuations editor. Debbie Moerschell serves as our Sotheby’s administrative liaison on the
exhibitions and coordinates all aspects of the auction venue.
Credit is also due to our staff numismatic experts including: Jeff Ambio, Greg Cohen, James McCartney,
Chris Nap olitano, John Pack, Andrew Pollock, Harvey Stack, Frank Van Valen, andVicken Yegparian. Graphic
design and final copy editing are by Jennifer Meers. Additional support provided by Karen Bridges, Samantha
Douglas, Melissa Karstedt, Evelyn Mishkin, Bryan Stoughton, and Millie Wu.
We gratefully acknowledge the following scholars, collectors, and dealers who contributed to this effort
in various ways: John Albanese, Richard Burdick, Jason Carter, Charles Davis, John Dannreuther (whose
contributions were particularly extensive) , Sheridan Downey, K. Eurig, David Fanning, Ron Guth, Jim Halperin,
Larry Hanks, Amy Hammontree, Jimmy Hayes, Stuart Levine, Kevin Lipton, Bill Nyberg,Joe O’Connor, Craig
Sholley, Anthony Terranova, Saul Teichman, and Doug Winter
Special thanks to W. David Perkins for sharing his unpublished research and insights into the Ostheimer
Collection and, in particular, the Lord St. Oswald-Ostheimer-Pogue 1794 dollar.
Special thanks to David Tripp, a longtime colleague and Sotheby’s consultant, for sharing his groundbreaking
research on William Strickland and the Lord St. Oswald coins. This catalogue has been immeasurably improved
by his assistance.
Style Note: Some quoted material has been lightly edited, but the original meaning has been preserved.
Selected coin photographs courtesy of PCGS.
David Redden, Vice Chairman
Debbie Moerschell, Assistant Vice President
Ella Hall, Department Administrator
David Tripp, Special Consultant
iv STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
The D. Brent Pogue
Collection Sale Part II
On behalf of Stack’s Bowers Galleries and Sotheby’s, I welcome
you to Part II of our auction program of the D. Brent Pogue
Collection of early United States coins. Part I, held in New York
City in May, is now history That dynamic sale, cataloged by John Kraljevich and the team at Stack’s
Bowers Galleries and held in partnership with Sotheby’s, exceeded all expectations and will forever
stand as one of the greatest auctions in American numismatics.
With Part II to be held on September 30 you will again be a witness to the most valuable
collection of United States coins ever sold, formed over the decades from the 1970s to the present.
The collection is composed of over 650 copper, silver, and gold coins, and we will continue to
present it in a series of auction sales at Sotheby’s headquarters in New York City. Each is sure to be
a world-class event. You are invited to participate as a bidder and possible buyer, or as an observer.
Either way you will have a rendezvous with numismatic history. Each catalog will be a collectible in
its own right.
Brent Pogue began the careful study of early American coins as a teenager. Soon after, he and his
father. Mack, were familiar faces in auction galleries whenever the most significant or finest known
examples were crossing the block. Always perceptive, Brent had many discussions with me and with
others as he sought advice.
He placed emphasis on the early, formative years of the Mint, beginning with 1792 and continuing
into the late 1830s. This was the era of hand craftsmanship of dies, of striking the coins on presses
powered by two men tugging on a lever arm, and of ever- changing political and economic challenges.
This was before the age of steam-powered presses and the mechanical repetition of dies. Each coin
has its own characteristics; no two are alike. To these, some selected later series of interest were added
to the collection — such as Gold Rush issues and a marvelous set of $3 gold coins, the last to be one
of the features in our Part III sale.
In the early federal era, relatively few people in America collected coins. By fortunate happenstance,
in the 1780s and 1790s there were many numismatists in Great Britain who collected coins, including
a few who sought “foreign” pieces from America. One of these was William Strickland, who came to
the United States in 1794 and 1795 and returned to England with what would be recognized later
as some of the finest coins of their era. The remarkable gem 1794 dollar in the present sale was one
of these.
It was not until June 1838 that the Mint Cabinet was established (forming the basis of what is now
the National Numismatic Collection in the Smithsonian Institution). After that time interest in coins
grew in America, but it was not until the 1850s that it was truly widespread. Accordingly, the survival
of high-grade coins from the 1790s into the early 19th century was a matter of chance. Many of the
Pogue Collection coins are condition rarities — available in lower grades, but exceedingly rare at the
Choice and Gem Mint State levels.
The Pogue Collection is built on a foundation provided by those who have gone before — great
collectors from the mid-19th century to the modern era who formed high-quality cabinets. Nearly
all of the Pogue coins have provenances tracing their ancestry to earlier numismatists. Examples:
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S v
The Garrett Collection was formed byX Harrison Garrett and his sons from the 1860s to the 1930s
and in 1942 was passed to The Johns Hopkins University. This remarkable cabinet was consigned to
us and sold from 1979 to 1981 when we worked with Hopkins curator Susan Tripp and her husband
David (who is participating in the present sale on behalf of Sotheby’s). Brent and Mack were on hand
to study, preview, and participate in that landmark auction.
When the Louis E. Eliasberg Collection — the only cabinet to have one of each and every date and
mintmark of United States coin from the 1793 half cent to the 1933 double eagle — was auctioned by
us in a series of three sales from 1982 to 1997, Brent and Mack previewed and carefully studied the
coins and were among the most active and successful bidders. From the Eliasberg sales they acquired
the only 1822 $5 gold half eagle in private hands as well as other impressive coins. As the only auction
sales of an 1822 half eagle in the 20th century were in 1906 and 1982 — the Pogue coin — generations
of numismatists were born and died without having had the opportunity to own one!
Harry W. Bass, Jr., a fine friend and numismatic connoisseur par excellence, specialized in gold
coins and formed one of the finest collections ever, beginning in 1966 and continuing to his passing.
Mack and Brent Pogue were front row center among the buyers in our several sales of his remarkable
cabinet. Over a long period of years Stack’s in New York City conducted many “name” collections
laden with treasures. Again, the Pogues were on hand to capture coins of exceptional quality and
value. Connoisseurship was the guiding precept.
Year after year, sale after sale, the Pogues carefully bought the finest of the fine, the rarest of the
rare. The result is the collection we now offer in a series of events that will forever echo in the halls
of numismatics.
The present sale, the second in the series, includes Capped Bust half dollars from 1807 to 1822,
incredible silver dollars of 1794 and 1795, quarter eagles from 1821 to 1839 (the later issues being in
the Classic Head series), early half eagles commencing with the first year of issue in 1795, and all of
the Pogue Collection eagles 1795 to 1804 (production ended in 1804 and would not resume until
1838). Coin for coin, no other collection ever formed — not even the Eliasberg Collection or the
National Numismatic Collection in the Smithsonian Institution — can compare or even come close
to the quality of the D. Brent Pogue Collection coins in these series. The term once in a lifetime
opportunity has never been more appropriate than now.
Welcome to our second sale. As a bidder, buyer, or observer you will be part of numismatic history
as it is made.
Q. David Bowers
Co-founder, Stack’s Bowers Galleries
vi STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
Welcome from Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s looks forward to Pogue Part II with keen anticipation. Pogue Part I is already regarded
as a landmark sale. My own involvement as auctioneer in that sale was thrilling. That I was presiding
over a “white glove” auction in which every lot sold, and sold very well, was a tribute both to the
Stack’s Bowers Galleries organization of the sale and to Brent Pogue’s consummate astuteness as a
collector. The auction room was buoyant, electric, the sale punctuated with applause for especially
soaring prices, and the atmosphere filled with friendliness and excitement.
Bidders have numerous options nowadays: leaving bids in advance, bidding by phone, and bidding
over the Internet. But I do encourage bidders to join us in the auction room and share the warm
collegiality that so typifies numismatic collecting.
David Redden
Vice Chairman, Sotheby’s
vii
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
D. Brent Pogue
A Numismatist and Custodian
David Brent Pogue was born in Dallas, Texas, on December 19, 1964. He graduated from the
University of Texas at Austin in 1987 with a degree in economics. Upon graduation, Brent moved
to New York where he was employed on Wall Street as an analyst with Goldman Sachs’ real estate
department. Three years later, he went to work for Lincoln Property Company in New York, a Pogue
family business, continuing his career in real estate. Brent was then transferred to Lincoln’s Chicago
office working in the company’s real estate development branch.
A few years later, he returned to Dallas and helped form a mortgage acquisition business for
Lincoln, a subsidiary named the Praedium Fund. Brent’s work with Praedium as an asset manager
responsible for negotiations took him to Los Angeles, California where he’s been ever since. The
skills he honed negotiating real estate acquisitions and loan payoffs would serve Brent well as his early
casual interest in coins became a passion that steered him into collecting full time. Over decades and
through connoisseurship, knowledge, and persistence he would build the fmest-ever collection of
early American federal coinage of the 1792 to late 1830s era.
Brent first became interested in coins at the age of 10 when his father, nationally-known real estate
developer Mack Pogue, presented him with a bag filled with $50 face value in wheat-back Lincoln
“pennies,” with an option to buy the bag for $60. As he sifted through the pile of predominantly
dull coins, a shiny 1915 cent caught Brent’s eye and ended up being worth $65. The option was
excercised.This transaction would mark his entrance into the field of numismatics, and coins would
be a fixture in his life from that point on.
Understanding that knowledge is key, Brent would go far beyond the Guide Book, which had
satisfied his initial curiosity as a boy looking up that 1915 cent, to build a fine reference library of
auction catalogs and standard works.
In the late 1970s, Brent drew his father into numismatics, and as a team they jumped in with both
feet, participating in most of the important auctions of the time. In the Louis E. Eliasberg US. Gold
Coin Collection sale in 1982, together they kept their eyes on the important coins and acquired the
only 1822 half eagle in private hands.
In 2001 Brent went into rare coins full time. While adding to his own collection he attended many
conventions and auctions to buy and sell. His first major transaction was the purchase of a type set
of copper and silver coins from Stack’s in 2002. In 2003 he completed the acquisition of the Foxfire
Collection formed over a long period of years by Claude E. Davis, MD. In 2005 he negotiated for
and completed the purchase of the Great Lakes Collection of $3 gold, complete except, of course, for
the 1870-S.This was the finest known such collection at the time, replete with many gems and will
be among the features of our Part III sale of the Pogue Collection.
It is with mixed feelings that Brent prepares to share the most valuable collection of federal
American coins in private hands with a new generation of owners, as he comments in his Personal
Note in the present catalog.
viii STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
Many of Brent’s experiences will be expanded upon in a forthcoming book, The D. Brent Pogue
Collection of American Coinage: The Definitive Sylloge, for which he is the advisor. This book,
well underway by Q. David Bowers, will describe the world of early American coinage from 1792
through the late 1830s, will tell more about Brent’s numismatic career, and will illustrate and describe
over 650 coins. More about this will be announced at a later date.
Part II of the D. Brent Pogue Collection will be another chapter in Brent’s remarkable career
and will also be a chapter in the lives of all of us who participate. Part I held in May exceeded
expectations and will forever echo in the halls of numismatics.
A Personal Note
As I reflect upon my numismatic career I have many wonderful memories. There was, of course,
that very special 1915 Lincoln cent that started it all. There were the Garrett, Eliasberg, Brand,
Norweb, Bass and other great sales; there was the Sultan of Muscat 1804 dollar, and there were many
friends, conventions and events.
The sale of Part I of my collection by Stack’s Bowers Galleries and Sotheby’s in May is the latest of
great memories. I attended in person with friends and had the opportunity to meet and greet some
of the greatest people in American numismatics.
The time had come for me as custodian of some of the greatest of early American coins to share
them with others. Great rarities have “naming rights” to go with them. My name is just the latest
on lists that sometimes go back a century or more. It is remarkable to think that when the 1822
half eagle was purchased from the Eliasberg Collection in 1982, it was the first sale at auction of
this coin since 1906! Now, 1982 is almost 35 years go. The names of future owners will be likewise
memorialized as has already been done with the buyers in Part I.
The sale of my collection has been bittersweet. I have had so much enjoyment putting Her
together. Some may say I succeeded. Some may say I am a pretty good numismatist. I do not know
any of that. However, I will put my custodianship up against anyone’s. It has been a privilege to
take care of Her. I can only hope that the new custodians of these coins will take equally as good
care of them and will enjoy them as much as I have. It is my hope they remain in the same state of
preservation they are in today. She deserves it. I will miss Her.
I give a nod of appreciation to the many fine collectors, dealers, and others who have helped
me over a long period of years. I will continue to be part of the numismatic community and look
forward to talking with many who take my coins to the next generation.
I also appreciate the team at Stack’s Bowers Galleries and those at Sotheby’s who have planned this
unique series of events.
D. Brent Pogue
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S ix
An Appreciation
by John Kraljevich
Our second offering of coins from the D. Brent Pogue Collection
is a diverse one, a harmony of chords that are both familiar and
exotic, arranged together to play a tune that could only emerge from
a cabinet of this exquisite quality. The Capped Bust half dollar series is among the most beloved
among all United States coins. John Reich’s design is familiar to all American coin collectors, readily
collected and fairly commonplace in circulated grades. The specimens included here share their
iconic design, their pleasing heft, and their silvery hue with coins that can be found in thousands
of collections, large and small. Coined with the same dies, struck on the same presses, the D. Brent
Pogue Capped Bust half dollars, familiar though they may be, are a world apart. Collected with
a connoisseur’s taste, each represents the very finest specimen that could be found. In the case of
the legendary 1817/4 half dollar, a rarity most collectors would walk a mile to even see, most
numismatists could not dream of owning any specimen, let alone one of this quality.
The silver dollars included in the second installment of the Pogue Collection strum the same
tune. The story of the 1794 dollar is well known, even though specimens are only found in advanced
collections. Numismatists cherish history, and perhaps no coin better embodies American history
that the first dollar struck at the United States Mint. From humble beginnings, a mighty dollar-based
economy grew. The 1794 dollar, the symbol of those beginnings, is an artifact of global interest. The
D. Brent Pogue specimen, however, is shrouded in romance and mystique unlike any other 1794
dollar in existence. David Tripp has advanced the story of the Lord St. Oswald Collection with logic
and facts, giving the most romantic story in American numismatics a name and a face. Tripp’s research,
never before published, should ensure a place for this catalogue on the shelf of every numismatist.
For decades, the numismatic world has awaited the offering of the gold coins from the D. Brent
Pogue Collection. The old tenor quarter eagles, each a rarity in any grade, represent perhaps the
finest quality group ever assembled, anchored by the extraordinary Parmelee-Mills-Clapp-Eliasberg
1821 quarter eagle. Magnificent quality Classic Head quarter eagles follow, including one very special
example from each of the Southern mints. The early half eagles from 1795 to 1807 represent the
heart of the collection, coins of extraordinary quality, encompassing every date in the series and most
major varieties. It took 35 years to bring these 22 coins together, a project that would not have been
possible but for the fortunate appearance of the Garrett and Eliasberg collections at auction in our
lifetime. After building relationships with well-known dealers, other fine half eagles were coaxed
from the shadows, puzzle pieces that enabled the formation of a cabinet that future collectors may
never be able to surpass. The early eagles appear to be a simple series, struck over the course of 9 years.
The inclusion of several major varieties ratchets the level of difficulty up an order of magnitude. Few
collectors have ever attempted such a feat, regardless of grade. The Pogue Collection challenge was
not just to find these coins, but to find them in the absolute best quality. Most numismatists have seen
a 1795 eagle, offered at a major convention or depicted in an auction catalogue. Unless you were at
the 1980 Garrett sale, you have never seen one that glows like the Pogue specimen. Its level of quality
is absolutely foreign to most collectors. So too, as it turns out, is its provenance.
The word quality may appear in this catalogue more than any other noun, so it deserves an
explanatory note. Quality does not always find itself in perfect alignment with grade. Today’s grading
system is a construct ofWilliam Sheldon’s experiments in defining the relationship between quality
and price. It is a numerical shorthand way of expressing quality that is not the same as quality itself.
X
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
Quality encompasses multitudes: surface quality, striking sharpness, level of (or, the case of most D.
Brent Pogue coins, absence of) wear, color, originality, aesthetic appeal and more. Some might add
provenance, the history of a coin since it was first appreciated as something more than a medium
of exchange. The historic provenances attached to many of the D. Brent Pogue coins are stamps
of approval from connoisseurs most of us never knew, but whose names are legendary. Collectors
like Parmelee, Woodin, Earle, Clapp, Boyd, Garrett, Eliasberg, Norweb, and Pittman were renowned
among their contemporaries for their eye for quality. The attitude of selectivity they employed when
building their cabinets continues to inform collectors today. In the present, there is no better lesson
on quality than taking the opportunity to study the coins of the D. Brent Pogue Collection hands-on
at lot viewing.
Coins struck at the first United States Mint were produced under circumstances that made a
perfect product an unlikely accident, not an expectation. Coins that approached perfection the day
they were minted were unusual. Coins of that era that have remained nearly perfect are a miracle.
Yet, the D. Brent Pogue Collection is full of coins of that calibre, to the exclusion of nearly all others.
Satisfying oneself with only coins whose level of quality approaches perfection is not the easiest path
to building a cabinet. It’s slow-going, requiring patience and the willpower to pass on coins some
other collectors would do anything to own. Most numismatists collect because they enjoy buying
coins, not because they enjoy resisting that temptation. Bringing powerful resources — financial,
interpersonal, and mental — to bear over the course of decades, D. Brent Pogue has been able to
gather what will stand as one of the ultimate collections of United States coins ever assembled.
The hard part, finding all these wonderful coins and bringing them to one place, has been done for
prospective bidders. The tasks of research and description accomplished by myself and the Stacks’
Bowers Galleries team, with impressive levels of assistance from a wide range of numismatists, were
done out of a love of these coins and an appreciation of their place in numismatic history. Now
that the coins have been brought together, and each has been meticulously described, buying them
becomes the easy part.
Grading Note:
All coins in the D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II have been graded and authenticated
by the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), or Numismatic Guaranty Corporation
(NGC), the world’s two leading third party numismatic certification services. Since the
founding of PCGS in 1986, and NGC in 1987, these firms have documented every grading
submission in published databases called the PCGS Population Report and NGC Census.
While these databases document every grading submission, they do not enumerate every
individual coin graded, resulting in occasional double-counting when the same coin is
submitted more than once.
After each coin description in this catalog, the relevant population data is printed (whether
PCGS or NGC), showing the number of entries at the same grade level as the coin being
sold and, when applicable, the number of entries at higher grades along with the highest
grade level assigned, i.e. PCGS Population: 2, 2 finer (MS-66 finest).
For most coins, and unless otherwise noted, the data will refer to all coins of the same date
and denomination. In those instances that the data refers instead to a particular subdivision
within a date and denomination, that subdivision will be noted in parentheses after the
population date, i.e. PCGS Population: 2, none finer. (All 1831 Small Letters Reverse
varieties) . These subdivisions typically refer to one or a small number of die varieties that
share the noted characteristic.
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S xi
The D. Brent Pogue
Collection
Masterpieces of
United States Coinage
Part II
Half Dollars: Lots 2001-2040
Silver Dollars: Lots 2041-2047
Quarter Eagles: Lots 2048-2068
Half Eagles: Lots 2069-2090
Eagles: Lots 2091-2105
UNITED STATES HALF DOLLARS 1807-1822
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Sale Part II begins with
Capped Bust half dollars, a continuation of the Flowing Hair
and Draped Bust coins featured in Part I. John Matthias
Reich, a talented engraver from Germany, had done
commission work for the Mint since the turn of the 19th
century. In 1807 he was hired as an assistant engraver to
Robert Scot, who had been at the Mint since 1793.
Reich was charged with redesigning the circulating
coinage. In 1807 this began with his portrait of Miss
Liberty with a loose cloth mob cap, a motif designated as
the Capped Bust design by numismatists. This was used in
1 807 on the half dollar and half eagle, the largest silver and
gold denominations then being struck.
At the time the production of different denominations
depended on those requested by depositors of silver and
gold. Accordingly, not aU values were made each year. The
larger denominations were easier to count and handle,
and more of these were made. It was not until 1829 that
Capped Bust half dimes were made. The design was first
used on dimes in 1809, quarters in 1815, and quarter
eagles in 1808.
Years later, half dollars came to the fore in numismatic
circles .The Capped Bust coins were minted in large quantities
continuously until 1836, with the solitary exception of 1816
(a year in which only copper cents were made). The half
dollars were widely used as reserves in the vaults of state-
chartered banks, especially after 1820 when the international
price of gold bullion rose to the point that it cost a few cents
more than $5 to made a half eagle, and those became used
only as bullion coins, nearly all for export.
With large numbers of half dollars available to collectors
and dealers, many set about collecting them by dates and
overdates, although in 1881 the Type Table published
by John W. Haseltine described die varieties by minute
differences. This was not widely used. In 1929 M.L.
Beistle published A Register of Half Dollar Die Varieties and
Sub- Varieties. Being a description of each die variety used in the
coinage of United States Half Dollars, which went on to serve
as the standard reference in the series for many years. By
the 1950s and early 1960s several dozen specialists sought
varieties by Beistle numbers. The shortcomings of that
text were realized, and several collectors set about revising
it, John Cobb and A1 C. Overton prominent among them.
Cobb, a California dealer and auctioneer, bought Capped
Bust half dollars in quantities (including over 100 of the
1815/2), corresponded widely, and was set to publish
a book. Pueblo, Colorado dealer A1 C. Overton, who
had served as president of the Professional Numismatists
Guild, had quietly been doing his own revision of Beistle.
Surprise! In 1967, Overton published Early Half Dollar
Die Varieties 1794-1836. The book was an instant sensation
as collectors and dealers recognized that there could be
valuable varieties hidden in their collections and inventories.
John Cobb, resigned to the situation, wholesaled his
holdings. Interest was further engendered by the Bust Half
Nut Club, which limited its membership to collectors, and
issued lists of the rarity of certain varieties. In the 1980s the
John Reich Collectors Society (JRCS) was formed, further
expanding interest in the series.
Today in 2015 Capped Bust half dollars are the second
most popular series, after large cents, to collect by die
varieties. The Pogue coins in Part II begin with the first
year, 1807, and continue to 1822. Later issues, 1823 to
1836, are a coming attraction.
Capped Bust Half Dollar Types
Capped Bust, Lettered Edge
First Style
1807-1808
Capped Bust, Lettered Edge
Remodeled Portrait and Eagle
1809-1836
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 1
1807 Overton-112. Rarity-1. Large Stars, 50/20C. Mint State-65 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
The Cornelius Vermeule 1807 50/20C Half Dollar
Finest Known
Lot 2001. 1807 Overton-112. Rarity-1. Large Stars, 50/20C. Mint State-65 (PCGS).
jolted Brahmins by scraping from ancient vases paint that
had covered images of penises.” — New York Times’ obituary
of Cornelius C. Vermeule III, December 9, 2008, reflecting his
scholarship as curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
A polychromatic delight begins our memorable offering
of Capped Bust half dollars. This coin’s deep gold centers are
concentrically framed by orange, rose, violet, pastel blue, and pale
green. Cartwheel luster spins around both sides, boldest at the
rims but unbroken and frosty across the fields to the center. The
fields of both sides are free of any significant marks, immaculate
to the naked eye and nearly as pristine under bright, magnified
scrutiny The strike is bold, firm enough to define the eagle’s head
completely though not strong enough to completely eliminate a
trivial area of planchet texture on Liberty’s bust. A few hairlines
may be seen with proper light, and a small area beneath TE of
UNITED has oxidized a bit more aggressively than the rest of
the surface, leaving a subtly darker region that still blends into the
peripheral toning. A single thin curved line in front of the eagle’s
beak and two shorter ones behind his head are the only detectable
defects. On a coin of any lesser quality they would barely be
noticeable, let alone notable. The eye appeal is remarkable,
displaying a perfect balance of genuine luster and surface quality
with the colorful and popular toning scheme imbued by storage
in a Wayte Raymond holder for much of the 20th century
The dies have clashed once, with clash marks visible beneath
the bust truncation mirroring the ribbon on the reverse, the
outside curvature of a wing subtly apparent behind Liberty’s head,
and the folds of Liberty’s drapery seen within the letters STA on
the reverse. Peripheral elements have become drawn to the edge
as the die has fatigued, but the die break that defines the Overton-
112a state has not yet developed. A thin die crack connects the
bases of 80 in the date, not yet connected to a similarly fragile die
crack that extends from the left base of 1 to the rim.
What has long been termed an errant 2 beneath the 5 in the
denomination, plain to the naked eye and giving this distinctive
variety its moniker, actually appears to be an inverted but
mostly effaced 5, based on overlays recently accomplished by
John Dannreuther. Walter Breen noted as early as 1988 that “the
‘2’ may be a 5 rotated 180°,” though it is unknown if he was the
first to thus identify it.
Vermeule, a lifelong collector and well-regarded curator with
a long tenure as a staff expert at Stack’s, New York City, prior to
joining the Museum of Fine Arts, gathered coins from ancient
to modern times with a painterly eye. While he is best known in
the numismatic community for his 1971 treatise Numismatic Art
in America, Vermeule was very well known for his contributions
to classical art history His collection, begun by his grandfather
and continued by his father, was added to in earnest from the
1930s through the 1950s. Before the sale of this piece at auction
in 2001, it had likely been unseen for decades.
Only a few examples from these dies challenge the gem
Mint State level, though a fair number exist in circulated and
lower Mint State grades. This reverse die, with its naked-eye
die crafting error, was also paired with a distinctively cracked
obverse to create the Overton-111 variety, the very scarce and
popular “Bearded Goddess,” a die marriage that does not exist
in gem preservation. The most recent Condition Census for this
variety (and others cited throughout this catalog) was published
in the 2014 5th edition of the standard reference on the varieties
of Capped Bust half dollars. United States Early Half Dollar Die
Varieties 1 794 - 1836,2. work that has been updated by Donald
Parsley, the son-in-law of author A1 Overton and a long-time
collector of the series. The Overton-Parsley Condition Census
cites five gem specimens, four graded MS-65 and one graded
MS-66: this coin. As Bust half specialists often prefer uncertified
coins, these grades do not line up precisely with published
certification data, as neither PCGS nor NGC has ever certified
an example as MS-66. This coin was sold raw in 2001 for a
price nearly 50% higher than the next highest price realized for
a specimen of this variety, recorded for an NGC MS-65 sold in
June 2014. The present example brought over four times what
the 1997 Eliasberg specimen, graded PCGS MS-64, brought
when resold in 2000. Stephen Herrman’s publications continue
to carry this piece atop the census as an MS-66 despite its more
modest PCGS assignment at the MS-65 level. Given its dramatic
eye appeal and its rank above all other recognized gems from
these dies, we are in no position to disagree.
PCGS Population: 3; none finer (50/20).
Provenance: Possibly acquired by Cornelius Vermeule or
Cornelius Vermeule Jr., before 1950; Cornelius C. Vermeule III
Collection; Estate of Cornelius C. Vermeule III; Stack’s sale of
September 2001 (rescheduled to November 2001), lot 228.
Est. $25,000-$35,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 3
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Richly Original Gem 1807 Small Stars Half Dollar
Tied for Finest Known
A
T',
i‘
j''* T
■
Lot 2002. 1807 Overton-113a. Rarity-3. Small Stars. Mint State-65+ (PCGS).
‘^None seen Uncirculated. ” — Walter Breen
This lustrous, deep gray gem offers superlative eye appeal that
matches its position atop the census for this major variety Ancient
gold toning emerges under light, most forcefully when crossed
by lustrous cartwheel, though the overall look is that of deep
pewter tinged with peach and pale green. The fields reveal no
significant issues, just a short vertical abrasion in the left obverse
field equidistant from star 3 and the chin. The strike is especially
sharp at the peripheries, with each star showing its fully delineated
center and the peculiarly well-defined denticles struck up to full
crispness. The central devices are likewise nicely detailed, though
Liberty’s throat shows some rounded detail and the eagle’s head
and the upper left corner of the shield are a bit soft. At least three
distinct though closely aligned clashes are seen, most notable
above the date and denomination and about the ribbon details
near the bases of STATThe clash mark at star 8 displays the olive
branch in remarkable detail, an unusual aspect. A very fine die
crack extends from the bust truncation to the outside point of
star 1 . On the reverse, an arc die crack begins at the clash mark
within 0 of the denomination and extends clockwise through the
tips of the olive leaves, the tops of all letters of UNITED, and the
tops of STA before curving down to the top of the motto ribbon
and ending, faintly, at the base of E of AMERICA.
Distinctive in appearance and very rare in Mint State grades,
the Small Stars obverse of 1807 is underappreciated compared
to other varieties of the year such as the 50/20C Reverse or
the so-called “Bearded Goddess.” The “Small Stars” moniker
perhaps requires refinement, as overlays of the stars on this
variety and others from 1807 reveal that the same punch set
was used on this variety as on its Large Stars brethren. The stars
appear slightly smaller by virtue of either lapping, a polishing
of the die, or the depth of the initial strike of the star punch
into the die face. Their relative size may be an optical illusion
created by the smaller and more refined denticles and the
greater distance between those smaller denticles and the stars
themselves. Used only in the Overton-113 die marriage, the
Small Stars obverse has been recognized as a major variety in
the Guide Book for decades, and in Wayte Raymond’s Standard
Catalogue for decades before that.
The provenance of this piece has been occasionally conflated
with that of the Pryor coin (Bowers and Merena, January 1996),
earlier from Stack’s March 1978 Fraser sale and the Lester
Merkin sales of March 1967 and February 1972. They are
distinct specimens, though both are graded MS-65 + by PCGS
and stand together atop both the Overton-Parsley Condition
Census of 65-65-63-63-62 for Overton-113 and the PCGS
Population Report for the Small Stars variety.
PCGS Population: 2, none finer. (Small Stars).
Provenance: Stuart Levine to Martin Haber, by sale; Superior
Galleries Cession of Auction ^89, July 1989, lot 612; Bowers and
Merena’s Rarities Sale, August 2001, lot 184; George ‘"Buddy”
Byers Collection; Stack’s sale of the George “Buddy” Byers Collection,
October 2006, lot 1014, via Richard Burdick.
Est. $50,000-$75,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 5
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Solitary Gem 1807 Large Stars Half Dollar
Finest of the Date Certified by PCGS
Lot 2003. 1807 Overton-114. Rarity-3. Large Stars. Mint State-66 (PCGS).
‘^Mr. Reich is now preparing a set of new dies in which some
improvements in the devices will be introduced, (adhering, however,
strictly to the letter of the law) which it is hoped will meet with public
approbation. ” — Director of the Mint Robert Patterson to Thomas
fefferson, April 2, 1807.
A fully brilliant gem — a tangible time machine to 1807.
Looking now much as it did the day it left the Philadelphia
Mint, this piece displays extraordinary cartwheel luster on both
sides. A whisper of surface toning is seen along a peripheral arc
from left of the date counterclockwise to stars 10 through 13.
Some areas of the reverse also show a minimal haze of toning,
but this piece is mostly brilliant on obverse and reverse. A
few tiny dark planchet flecks are seen, chiefly at center and in
the right obverse field. The strike is strong, just a bit soft on
the eagle’s head and the area of the wing near the upper left
corner of the shield, but bold and well-defined among the
stars and other areas of the central and peripheral designs. A
few hairlines are seen, mostly on the obverse, where we note
a shallow scratch from star 4 into the obverse field near the
chin. Two white spots, each a tiny perfect circle, are present at
the final S of STATES. What appear to be shallow abrasions
above 07 of the date and above star 13 are likely mint-made
depressions. Both obverse and reverse show evidence of a
single clash. Two lumps from die spalling are seen under the
7 of the date, another
outside star 1 1 .
Capped Bust half
specialists and PCGS
agree that this specimen
is the finest known from
these dies, a primacy of
preservation that PCGS
extends beyond the variety
to encompass all examples
of the 1807 Capped Bust
issue. Stephen Herrman
has noted this example as
the finest known of the
variety in his compiled
data, and it stands as the sole 1 807 half dollar of any variety to
reach the MS-66 level at PCGS. It is finer than the Col. E.H.R.
Green-Eric Newman Overton-114, sold for $152,750 as MS-
65 (NGC) and recently graded at the same level by PCGS. It
also surpasses the Overton-112 included in the Jimmy Hayes
and Marvin Taichert type sets, a coin Congressman Hayes
once noted was one of only two specimens of the date he had
ever seen “that really qualified for full Unc. status.” Widely
recognized as the very finest survivor from this first-year issue,
this coin attracts particular interest from those like Jimmy
Hayes who specialize in first-year type coins.
The John Reich design revolution began in 1807 with half
dollars and half eagles, but eventually expanded to include every
series but eagles and dollars, two denominations that endured a
production lapse that would extend to the late 1830s. Reich’s
relationship to the U.S. Mint dates to 1801, when Chief Coiner
Henry Voigt purchased the remainder of Reich’s indenture, a
term of servitude that would have enabled Reich to pay for his
voyage from Bavaria to Philadelphia with a guarantee of future
labor. Mint Director Elias Boudinot wrote to Thomas Jefferson
in June 1801 that Reich “has been liberated from his servitude
by means of one of the officers of the Mint, since which I
have set him to work on a particular medal to be ascertained of
his abilities. I am obliged to use great precaution in regard to
employing him in the Mint before I can have good evidence
of the integrity of his
character.” The medal
mentioned by Boudinot
is likely Jefferson’s Indian
Peace medal, though
soon thereafter Reich
began work on the
project that would attract
Jefferson’s more specific
attention: a privately
commissioned medal
to commemorate both
Jefferson’s inauguration
and the 25th anniversary
of the Declaration of
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 7
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II
Independence. Jefferson was so pleased with it that he sent one
to each of his daughters, writing to Martha “I inclose you a
medal executed by an artist lately from Europe and who appears
to be equal to any in the world,” noting further that “it sells the
more readily as the prints which have been offered the public
are such miserable caricatures.”
The next several years of Reich’s career were mostly spent
on odd jobs, engraving now-forgotten seals and dies for
better-remembered medals, including government-sponsored
projects, like the naval medals for commodores Thomas
Truxtun and Edward Preble, and private commissions, led by
the four medals depicting George Washington and Benjamin
Franklin that were executed as part of Joseph Sansom’s
abortive Medallic History of the American Revolution series.
He was finally hired full time by the Philadelphia Mint on
April 1, 1807, with the title of assistant engraver and a salary
of $600 per annum. The designs for the 1807 Capped Bust
half dollars were among the first works he completed in
his new position, though he completely re-envisioned and
created the designs for the new half eagles in the same year.
In 1808, Reich redesigned the cent and the quarter eagle;
the year following, his talents brought forth new images of
Liberty on the half cent and dimes. After 1807, no quarter
dollars were struck until 1815, but when they appeared those
too were struck from new designs by Reich, completing his
total overhaul of American coinage. Though he left the Mint
in 1817, when the half dime reappeared in 1829, it likewise
displayed motifs copied from the work accomplished during
his decade of active production. Stewart Witham, a Capped
Bust half dollar specialist and Reich biographer, estimated that
during that decade Reich “executed at least 270 different coin
dies, obverses and reverses.” It is no wonder that the specialty
club devoted to collecting the coins of this era selected the
name John Reich Collectors’ Society.
The Capped Bust half dollar remains the most avidly
collected of Reich’s designs. The D. Brent Pogue 1807 Large
Stars half dollar is the single finest survivor of the largest and
most popular coin designed and struck during Reich’s first year
as a US Mint engraver.
PCGS Population: 1, none finer. This is the single finest
1807 half dollar of all varieties certified by PCGS.
Provenance: Heritage’s sale of April 2010, lot 2112, via Larry
Hanks.
Three of the four medals
designed by fohn Reich for
foseph Sansom’s Medallic
History of the American
Revolution series.
(Images reduced)
Est. $100,000-$150,000
8 STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
The Year 1807
On March 25, 1807, John Reich, who had been doing contract work for the Mint since
1801, was recommended for the post of assistant engraver in a letter from Mint Director Robert
Patterson to President Thomas Jefferson. Reich was employed, as discussed above, ushering in the
Capped Bust coinage era.
Beyond the Capped Bust half dollar and half eagle coinage of 1807, mintages included these:
half cents of the Draped Bust design were made, a motif used since 1800. Not until 1809 would
it be replaced by Reich’s Classic Head motif — a female portrait with LIBERTY on a headband.
Copper cents of 1807 were of the Draped Bust design and would change in 1808 to the Classic
Head style. Half dollars minted in early 1807 were of the Draped Bust obverse. Heraldic Eagle
reverse introduced in 1801. Quarter eagles made in 1807 were of the Conical or Turban Head type
introduced in 1796. Half eagles minted early in that year were of the same motif For the first time
the annual production of coins crossed the $1 million mark.
Conditions in commerce were stable, and gold and silver coins, seldom seen in circulation,
continued to trade at par with notes of the Bank of the United States. On the high seas British
and French naval crews had been intercepting American ships and impressing any sailors that had
been born in either of those two countries. Cargoes were affected as weU.To prevent this. President
Jefferson signed the Embargo Act which prevented American vessels from sailing to ports other
than those along the coast of the United States. Soon a chiH was felt in the marketplace, a catalyst
that would eventually create disturbances in the monetary system. This was the prelude to what
would be the War of 1812 a few years later.
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 9
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Finest Known 1808/7 Overdate Half Dollar
No Previous Auction Appearances
Lot 2004. 1808/7 Overton-101. Rarity-1. Mint State-66 (PCGS).
the Half Dollars there are several that have excited the interest
of collectors, on account of being overstrikes of previous years. For
instance, 1808 over 1807, 1817 over 1813, 1818 over 1817, etc.”
— A.M. Smith, Coins and Coinage, 1881
Consistent and bold cartwheel luster encircles both obverse
and reverse, each toned a blend of rose, violet, and pastel blue
that is both dramatic and subtle. Boldly struck on both sides,
with typically soft areas like Liberty’s throat and the eagle’s head
showing full definition. The overdate is crisp and each star is
bold and shows a complete center. The eye appeal is world-class,
though a glass reveals some light abrasions on Liberty’s chin and
throat and some shallow slidemarks
atop her chest. Further scrutiny will
find some light hairlines and some
brightness at an abrasion beneath the
wing on the left side of the reverse,
each a minor consideration and
no impediment to this specimen’s
gem status. The dies have clashed
at least twice, though lapping or polishing has diminished the
clash marks’ appearance. The obverse shows significant cracks, the
boldest of which arcs from the base of the date digits through the
first six stars, while other lighter cracks are present from the rim
to the base of 1, the bust truncation to star 3, through stars 9 to
13 on the right side of the obverse, and from the rim to below
the lowest curl right of the date. The reverse is cracked atop UN
of UNITED, ATES of STATES, and OF AMERICA.
A special survivor of this popular overdate as the only MS-66
seen by either major service. The Overton-Parsley census ranks
four MS-65 coins as tied for finest known, but this example has
not sold publicly and thus is likely not included in those figures.
The eye appeal of this piece handily outpaces the Col. Green -
Eric Newman specimen (NGC MS-65), the Kaufman coin (also
NGC MS-65), and the Eliasberg coin (NGC MS-64). Another
NGC MS-65, sold at Heritage in January 2011 and April 2012,
has more recently been certified by PCGS as MS-64+.
When Andrew Madsen Smith wrote Coins and Coinage,
much numismatic terminology remained imprecise. What he
called an “overstrike” would become known as an “overdate”
in modern parlance, while the word overstrike refers to a coin
produced using an already-struck coin as its planchet. By the
early 1880s, overdates had been
collected as something special for
at least two decades. The year he
published his popular guide Coins
and Coinage, 1881, also saw the
publication of J. Colvin Randall’s
study on the die varieties of silver
dollars, half dollars, and quarter
dollars. Randall’s pioneering study was the first publication on
die varieties of early American silver coins ever printed, though
Philadelphia dealer John Haseltine published this work as his
Type Table without offering any credit whatsoever to Randall.
PCGS Population: l,none finer. (1808/7)
Provenance: Richard Burdick, via sale, October 2006.
Est. $20,000-$30,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 1 1
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Incomparable Gem 1808 Overton-103
From the Knoxville Collection
Lot 2005. 1808 Overton-103. Rarity-1. Mint State-67 (PCGS).
Although not as rare as the 1807, the 1808 is another issue that is
difficult to find in Mint State. ” — David Akers
This coin is one of the most spectacularly preserved
specimens of the entire design type. Luster radiates from the
entire surface, crisp, frosty, and bright. The obverse blends peach
and gold with brighter tints of pastel blue and violet near the
rim, while the pale silver of the reverse displays highlights of
gold flecked with bright blue and magenta in protected areas of
the periphery Whether at arms length or under magnification,
the impression is of nearly perfect preservation. No marks are
visible, and the fields are free of the notable hairlines that plague
even high grade examples of this type.
The dies have been clashed and lapped, leaving some
evidence of peripheral fatigue and fine die cracks. The stars are
drawn to the rim and the denticles are weak in some areas, gone
entirely in others. One wonders if the grade assigned wouldn’t
be still higher had this piece been coined from different, fresher
dies. It would be hard to conceive of a way this coin could be
prettier, nicer, or better.
Though not plated in the 1958 sale catalog of the Elliot
Landau Collection (New Netherlands’ 52nd sale), this may be
the Landau specimen that was described by Breen as “Really
superb; magnificent ‘gem’ Unc., acquiring golden and pale
gray tone. Weakly struck at borders, the die having been a
little too large for the planchet (a characteristic of this year)
but everywhere else exceptionally sharp.” Breen still recalled
that piece fondly in 1972 when he cataloged the Wayne Slife
coin (most recently seen in the March 2006 ANR sale, graded
PCGS MS-64) as “only Landau’s (1958) came anywhere near
this; no equal offered since then.” According to Herrman,
no example finer than the Slife coin has sold since 2006; in
fact, he records no sales of any 1808 Overton-103 graded
better than MS-64. The Overton-Parsley Condition Census
includes a single MS-67 (this coin) leading two MS-65s and
two MS-64s.
PCGS Population: 4, none finer.
Provenance: Possibly from the Elliot Landau Collection, thence
to New Netherlands Coin Company’s 52nd Sale, December 1958, lot
546; Knoxville Collection; plated in the undated (2002) Knoxville
Collection fxed price list by Jay Parrino’s The Mint, L.L.C; Jay
Parrino, by sale, April 2003.
Est. $35,000-$45,000
In November 18 08, James Madison defeated Charles
C. Pinckney to become the fourth president of the
United States, taking office in March 1809.
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 13
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Spectacularly Intense 1808 Overton- 109a
Among the Finest Known of the Date
Lot 2006. 1808 Overton-109a. Rarity-3. Mint State-67 (PCGS).
the Mint, the first master die for half dollars is used for the
second, and last, year, a tall, handsome design of Miss Liberty often
softly struck in the center due to Mint machinery lacking sufficient
force to bring up all the details on this design .” — Dr. Glenn
Peterson, The Ultimate Guide for Attributing Bust Half Dollars
Displaying intense luster that most numismatists could
hardly fathom on a coin from two centuries ago, both sides
of this coin cartwheel spectacularly and gleam with mint frost.
Bright silver brilliance at the centers of each side is framed by
gold, amber, magenta, and pale blue, bold in color if confined
in surface area. No marks or notable hairlines are found with
studious observation, just a few minuscule abrasions, one on
Liberty’s chin, others near the wing on the left side of the
reverse and beneath the eagle’s neck. It takes little imagination
to picture this coin, still perfect, placed on a cabinet tray a half-
century after its mintage, or emerging from a dusty envelope a
half century later, enhanced with ideal peripheral toning that
increases its remarkable visual appeal.
The dies are boldly clashed, with the first U of UNUM still
apparent beneath the bust on the obverse and other less evident
vestiges elsewhere. Many die cracks are seen, incorporating
broad arcs and jogging peripherals. The smaller of the two
arc die cracks on the obverse divides star 1 from star 2, crosses
the bust and drapery, and vertically bisects the 0 of the date
before touching the rim at 6:00. The larger arc has broken the
die from the rim through star 6, along the bottom curve of
Liberty’s cap, through her hair and lowest curl to the right base
of the final 8. Two cracks run through star 12, one of which
intersects the broader arc. Other cracks are present near the bust
truncation, toward star 1 and toward the first two date digits,
as well as connecting D STATES OF AMER atop the reverse.
The strike is bold, though star 9 is soft at its center, a typical if
minor defect. The central devices on both sides are crisply and
distinctly defined.
The original hubs created by John Reich for half dollars were
used in only 1807 and 1808. With a tall, elegant portrait bust
and distinctive long-necked eagle, this two-year subtype stands
out among the series. The amended design, used beginning in
1809, solved some of the issues of localized striking softness
while creating other striking flaws and production issues.
This spectacular quality specimen far outpaces the Douglas
Noblet example from these dies (sold in 1999 as an NGC MS-
64, later offered by Heritage as PCGS MS-64 in January 2014)
as well as the MS-65 (PCGS) sold in Heritage’s 2000 FUN
sale described as “finest known.” A dipped white NGC MS-66
tops the NGC census among specimens of this Overton variety,
and was sold in April 2015 for $25,850, the most recent of its
several offerings in the last decade. The Overton-Parsley census
of 67-66-65-65-64 suggests that though there may be a small
group from these dies that have survived in Mint State grades,
the D Brent Pogue specimen is finest among them. Among all
PCGS-certified half dollars from the inception of the Capped
Bust half dollar type in 1807 until the introduction of the new
Liberty Seated design in 1839, only a single piece (dated 1833)
has ever been graded finer than MS-67.
PCGS Population: 4, none finer.
Provenance: Superior Galleries ’session of Auction ’90, August
1990, lot 1108 (as Overton- 102); Marvin Browder Gollection;
Heritage’s sale offanuary 2009, lot 3842, via Larry Hanks.
Est. $35,000-$45,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 15
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
The George H. Earle - Eliasberg 1809 0-106 Half Dollar
The Finest Surviving Example of the Date
Lot 2007. 1809 Overton-106. Rarity-3. Mint State-66+ (PCGS).
‘^The new turban head design type first used in the later part of 1807
was redesigned in 1809.” — Al C. Overton
Meeting the standards for a superb gem by every measure, this
half dollar s luster, originality, strike, and eye appeal are essentially
unimprovable. Both obverse and reverse show light reflectivity in
the fields as well as a consistent silver gray and gold that deepens
at the peripheries with hints of amber and olive. Spectacularly
beautiful. Struck from crisp and unclashed dies whose states
remain early enough to reveal raised polishing lines still present
around the denomination. The stars are struck in sculptural relief,
though a few show modest softness at centers; the distinctive
punch used for star 13, whose “bitemark” has long been said to
have been a John Reich signature, is rotated 180 degrees from
its usual position. A glass and a light source reveal few issues,
including a single thin diagonal line on the cheek, a duU mark in
the left obverse field, and a little spot at the outside point of star
13, none of which affect the eye appeal. While some coins may
meet the definition of a gem based upon a lack of flaws, this coin
rises to the title of superb gem with its indefatigable luster, its
radiant beauty, and its untrammeled originality
The first year of a new portrait of Liberty, described in Overton
as “made smaller with smaller face, jaw line better defined, cap
is smaller with folds more pronounced with only one line on
headband below LIBERTY, bust more fully developed.” Overton
described the modified reverse as including “many subtle changes
in the eagle, including a fuller left wing, shield wider, claws and
talons larger.” Whereas the 1807 and 1808 half dollars, even in
the best preservation, often show softness on Liberty’s cheek
and profile on the obverse and the eagle’s head on the reverse,
those are typically fairly well realized on the new design types
of 1809. Other issues appear with the modified design elements,
including frequent weakness left of the reverse shield, poorly
defined peripheral obverse stars, and other localized anomalies.
The re-engineering of the half doUar dies continued with further
modifications in later years, ones most collectors would recognize
even if reference books rarely mention them.
The 1809 issue enjoyed a healthy mintage of nearly 1.5
million coins, but choice Mint State examples are rare. Among
the 15 die varieties of 1809, no Mint State survivors are
recorded from five of them. For the Overton- 106 marriage.
the Condition Census lists a single MS-66, two MS-65 coins,
and two more graded MS-63. The superb Kaufman coin, now
included in a spectacular Iowa cabinet, has been certified as
an MS-66 by both NGC and PCGS, but this piece has been
given top honors by PCGS. The crispness of the early die state,
sometimes called Overton- 106’ (pronounced Overton- 106
“prime”), likewise gives this coin a special edge in terms of
sharpness and eye appeal. Herman has called this early die state
“probably R5,” denoting fewer than 75 survivors in all grades
The provenance of this coin includes three of the most
important collections of American coins ever built. Though the
Earle sale in 1912 included thousands of lots ranging from ancient
to modern times, George H. Earle Jr. clearly paid special attention
to the Capped Bust half doUar series. John H. Clapp purchased
37 Capped Bust halves from the Earle sale, more than a third
of the total offering, each of which remained in his collection
when he died in 1940, all of which were sold to Louis Eliasberg
in 1942, and none of which were available to other collectors
until the Eliasberg sale of 1997. Three of those Earle-Eliasberg
half dollars are included in the present offering of the D. Brent
Pogue Collection.
The edge device on this piece shows a mild misalignment of
the two parallel dies of the edge mill, also known as the Castaing
machine, leaving an edge device that reads FIFTY CENTSALF
A DOLLAR instead of the proper FIFTY CENTS OR HALF
A DOLLAR. While the edge is partially obscured in the current
encapsulation, this aspect is noted in the 1997 Eliasberg catalog.
PCGS Population: 1, none finer. This is the single finest
1809 half dollar certified by PCGS.
Provenance: George H. Earle, Jr. Collection; Henry Chapman’s
sale of the George H. Earle, Jr. Collection, June 1912, lot 2857; John
H. Clapp Collection; Clapp Estate; Eouis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection,
by sale, via Stack’s, 1942; Richard A. Eliasberg, by descent, 1976;
Bowers and Merena’s sale of the Eouis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection,
April 1997, lot 1705; Sheridan Downey, offered in Downey’s
December 1997 fixed price list; Douglas E. Noblet Collection; Bowers
and Merena’s Rarities Sale, January 1999, lot 16.
Est. $20,000-$30,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 17
1809 Overton-109h. Rarity-4. IIII Edge. Mint State-65 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
A Gem Experimental Edge 1809 Half Dollar
Overton- 109b
r
1
r -
: 1
Lot 2008. 1809 Overton-109b. Rarity-4. IIII Edge. Mint State-65 (PCGS).
^^One thing is factual: the edges are interesting. ” — Edgar Senders,
Bust Half Fever.
Extraordinary luster spins around beautifully toned surfaces,
chiefly deep champagne gold with a tight frame at the
peripheries that incorporates blue, bright yellow, magenta, and
green. Well struck from center to rim on both sides, showing
finely defined design elements and fully centered stars. Radial
flowlines pull toward the edge, the stars are likewise stretched
outward, adding topographical interest under a glass. No clash
marks are seen, though the reverse peripheral legends are nearly
all touched by thin die cracks. Larger breaks are seen at the tips
of the top two arrowheads and within MER of AMERICA,
these breaks denoting the “b” die state. Few marks are seen,
none without significant scrutiny, and only some minor and
widely scattered hairlines are apparent. A spot of darker toning
is present on Liberty’s cap band at R. Magnificently preserved
and beautifully toned, this half dollar defines Pogue quality.
The slight edge error seen on the previous lot may have
been the sort of hiccup in the minting process that inspired
the experimental edge seen on a small number of 1809 halves.
Don Taxay once estimated that fewer than 20% of the 1809
half dollars exhibit one of the two experimental edges, showing
either vertical lines or a series of Xs in the typically blank space
between the usual edge lettering. The IIII edge, seen on this
piece, is encountered substantially more often than the XXX
edge. The PCGS population in all grades for the IIII edge is
about twice that of the XXX edge. Only two Mint State-65
experimental edge 1809 half dollars have been certified, both
of this edge variety, namely the D. Brent Pogue coin and the
Overton- 107 now in a famous Iowa collection.
Edge dies that featured a series of vertical lines or Xs
bookending the lettering FIFTY CENTS OR on one die and
HALF A DOLLAR on the other could have saved time in the
minting process, allowing the employee running the edge mill
to be less scrupulous about the relative position of the parallel
dies when the unstruck coin was cranked between them. No
other early denomination was coined with a lettered edge after
1804, when silver dollar production was placed on hiatus. Edge
lettering was abandoned on cents with the weight change of
1795, while all half dimes, dimes, and quarters had fairly crude
reeding applied by their collars at the moment of striking. Coins
of relatively small diameter could have their peripheries and
edges fully struck up with the force available from the Mint’s
screw presses, but such single step coining was likely not feasible
on large and heavy silver coins like dollars and half dollars. Gold
coins, thinner and softer than their silver counterparts, were
struck with reeded edges in the same way as the small silver
denominations.
Despite the added efficiency that the experimental edges of
1809 may have brought to the Mint’s operations, most 1809 half
dollars were struck with standard edges and the experimental
edges were never used again, though similar devices appeared
on the edges of half dollars struck in 1830 and later. Most
specialized collectors seek out a specimen of each 1809 edge
type. Because the edge milling process was undertaken separate
from the striking process, several different marriages may be
found with the two experimental edges.
The Overton- 109 marriage is rated as Rarity-2 overall,
though the 0-1 09b die state is considered Rarity-4. The
Auction ’86-Buddy Byers 0-1 09a, graded MS-66+ (NGC) at
the time of its most recent sale in April 2014, may be the finest
known from these dies, though that piece is struck with the
XXX edge variety. The Overton-Parsley census is 66-64-64-
63-63. This piece, uncertified when last sold in 2002, would
likely be accorded second finest known status by most observers.
PCGS Population: 2, none finer. (Ill edge)
Provenance: Stack’s, by sale, January 1990; Andrew Main
Collection; Stack’s sale of the Main Family Collection, January 2002,
lot 1249.
Est. $10,000-$20,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 19
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Exceedingly Rare Gem 1810 Half Dollar
Finest Known Overton-110
Lot 2009. 1810 Overton-110. Rarity-2. Mint State-65 (PCGS).
^^The supply of bullion is still abundant; nor is there any
apprehension of a deficiency. ” — Robert Patterson, Annual Report
of the Director of the Mint, January 5, 1810.
Attractively toned in deep gray, bright gold, and olive.
Crystalline luster spins around both sides, calling forth hints of
peach and blue as the light passes over the frosty surfaces. A glass
finds a few widely scattered contact points, including a single
thin line between the cap and star 7, a vertical abrasion between
the eagle’s head and N of UNUM, and two short scratches
between the last S in STATES and O of OF, but each is old and
blended, found only when dutifully sought out. The obverse is
aligned to the right, with some vestiges of fatigued denticles
visible on the left side. The reverse is better centered, though no
denticles have survived to this die state. Clash marks are visible,
including a prominent impression from the bust truncation
seen above the eagle and a wing impression above Liberty’s
bust. The peripheral detail has softened at this die state, with
most stars lacking their centers and localized weakness of ICA
of AMERICA. Most peripheral design elements are drawn, or
more accurately, pushed, to the rims, a characteristic seen on
many late die state half dollars of this design type.
Of the $638,773.50 worth of silver coins struck at the United
States Mint in 1810, all but $635.50 was coined into half dollars.
The rest were dimes; no half dimes, quarters, or dollars were
struck at all. Among gold coins, only half eagles were struck,
just over 100,000 in number adding up to five times as much
in face value. Only large cents were struck in greater numbers
than half dollars, though the nearly 1.5 million pieces produced
tended to see little circulation beyond the Philadelphia area,
much to the consternation of the rest of the country, where
small change was scarce. The half dollars coined in 1810 mostly
found their way into bank vaults, where they were shuffled to
and fro as surety against paper money and other securities. In
January 1811, Mint Director Patterson reported to President
James Madison that silver deposits had “hitherto been furnished
chiefly by the Bank of the United States,” and into their hands
poured most of the 1810 half dollars struck, a proportion of
which were deposited into smaller banks to be paid out and
used in commerce.
Today, the half dollars of 1810 are easy to locate in nearly any
circulated grade, but perfect specimens are almost inconceivably
rare. Of the 1,127 occasions on which PCGS has certified a
specimen of this date, just 14 received a grade higher than MS-
63. Among those, just one has been termed an MS-65, and
only a single specimen has risen to the MS-66 level. The Earle-
Eliasberg-Kaufman and the Col. Green-Eric Newman coins,
both Overton- 108s, are the finest to have sold in recent years,
but no PCGS MS-65 or MS-66 has ever been offered at auction.
This is considered the finest specimen of the Overton-110 die
marriage, ranked first among the Overton-Parsley Condition
Census of 65-65-64-63-63.
PCGS Population: 1, 1 finer (MS-66).
Provenance: Douglas L. Noblet Collection; Bowers and Merena^s
Rarities Sale, January 1999, lot 19; Heritage’s sale of October
2001, lot 6555; Heritage’s sale of July 2003, lot 7379; American
Numismatic Rarities’ Classics Sale, January 2004, lot 1464; Larry
Hanks, by sale, March 2004.
Est. $15,000-$20,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 21
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
The Eliasberg 1811/0 Half Dollar
Punctuated Date
Lot 2010. 1811/10 Overton-101. Rarity-1. Mint State-64+ (PCGS).
“Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. buys money for the love of its beauty, and
because he thinks coins are the best ^warehouse of value’ he can find. ”
— Look magazine, October 29, 1964
Opalescent golden gray toning appears more silvery on
the obverse, more golden on the reverse. Unbroken cartwheel
luster graces both sides, thoroughly frosty and responding in
lively fashion to a light source. The central details are crisp,
even as some peripheral design elements such as the stars
on the right and the olive leaves are soft. The eye appeal is
outstanding, equal to the Eliasberg and Pogue provenances,
showing rich originality that is easier witnessed than
described. Some light contact points are seen, including a
tiny abrasion parallel to the lips in the left obverse field and a
thin scratch that descends from the
top left corner of D in UNITED
to the base of the wing below. A
tiny struck-through depression is
seen atop Liberty’s cap. Denticles,
sometimes called “segments” in
the context of Capped Bust half
dollars, are mostly complete, and this die state is unclashed and
uncracked. The 0 of the formerly present 1810 underdate has
mostly been abraded away, but a shadow of it remains visible.
In cataloging the Eliasberg collection, Q. David Bowers
raised an interesting query: “This variety is considered, and
usually cataloged as an overdate with 1811 over 10. If this is
the case, why is the ‘punctuation’ located between the 8 and
1? Possible answers are that this is actually an 1811 over 09
or that the middle 1 in 1811 was positioned between the 1
and 0 in 1810.” Other writers have been similarly unconvinced
by the 1811/10 overdate attribution; Dr. Glenn Peterson notes
skeptically that the “punctuation” between the 8 and 1 is “a
remnant, we are told, of an under-date of 1810.” The tiny
artifact between the tops of the two Is in the date disappears
quickly as the obverse die wears. On this specimen, it is present
but indistinct. Later, including on most specimens struck
from the Overton-1 02 marriage, it wears or is abraded away
completely Overlay study likely would not solve the question,
and the large punctuation between the bases of 8 and 1 may be
a relic of the process of effacing an underdate rather than a relic
of those digits themselves. The suggestion that the overdate is
actually 1811/09 is worthy of future study, pending discovery of
specimens whose die state is early enough to help add additional
data points to our plane.
Whatever the precise nature of this variety, the Eliasberg-
Kaufman-Pogue specimen is one of the nicest to survive, as
beautiful as it is well preserved. The Overton-Parsley Condition
Census places a MS-65 coin ahead of three MS-64 specimens
and a single MS-63. Among other notable survivors are the
Garrett-Pryor coin (graded MS-64 by PCGS when last offered
in January 1996), the one in a famous Iowa Collection (now
graded MS-64+ by PCGS, earlier from the June 2005 American
Numismatic Rarities sale and the 2011 ANA sale), and the T
James Clarke - New Netherlands
47th sale coin that last sold as an
uncertified gem in the December
1991 Stack’s sale, probably the
piece now certified as PCGS MS-
66. Of the three entries on the
PCGS Population Report at the
MS-64 level, one of them is the Dale Friend coin, another is the
Garrett-Pryor coin, while the other may be a repeat appearance
of either this or the Iowa coin, both of which were certified
as MS-64 before the advent of plus grading. It is notable that
the names Eliasberg, Garrett, and T James Clarke emerge when
counting the finest half dollars from these dies, as the names
of these legendary connoisseurs turn up repeatedly attached to
coins now in the D Brent Pogue Collection.
PCGS Population: 2, 1 finer (MS-66). (1811/10)
Provenance: Eouis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection; Richard A.
Eliasberg, by descent, 1976; Bowers and Merena’s sale of the Eouis
E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, April 1997, lot 1713; Phil Kaufman
collection; Phil Kaufman to Joseph C. Thomas, via Heritage, by sale,
July 2008; Joseph Thomas Collection; Heritage’s sale of April 2009,
lot 2408, via Tarry Hanks.
Est. $10,000-$15,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 23
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
One of the Best Preserved Capped Bust Half Dollars Extant
The Woodin-Clapp-Eliasberg 1811 Overton-108
Lot 2011. 1811 Overton-108. Rarity-2. Small 8. Mint State-67 (PCGS).
high government official recently told me that he considered all
ardent numismatists as slightly insane. ”
— William H. Woodin, 1911
Few superlatives would be too strong to indicate this coin s
level of eye appeal and overall quality. The cartwheel luster
shines its spotlight-brightness at the rims as it spins briskly.
The toning is warm and fairly even gold-tinged silver at arm’s
length, but focus reveals a burst of rich orange and gold around
the obverse design elements and even brighter tones at the
left reverse periphery, where some nearly hidden shades of
green, rose, and blue more likely to be found on a lorikeet
than among the interstices of a gem Capped Bust half dollar
can be seen. The strike is superb, with full centers on all stars
but star 9, nearly full denticles, and unparalleled detail of the
central devices. The surfaces are immaculate, frosty, and fresh as
the day they were minted, with only a fine abrasion on the left
ear of the top arrowhead found after extensive study A clash
mark is seen atop the eagle’s beak on the reverse, under URI of
PLURIBUS, continuing below UNUM, but no die cracks are
seen. The reverse shows a 45° rotation, unusual but not unique
among specimens of this variety. The Overton collection piece,
sold privately in 1993, was cataloged with a 30° rotation.
Other Capped Bust half dollars have been graded MS-67.
PCGS has extended the MS-67 or MS-67+ grade to Capped
Bust halves on 24 occasions, likely representing a smaller
number of discrete specimens. Fully one-third date between
1830 and the end of the series in 1836. Four of them are
dated 1808, of which two are offered in the present sale. The
remaining 12 are spread throughout the series, and most issues
are not represented by a single specimen that survives so fine.
The superb Iowa collection includes one at this level, an 1811
graded MS-67+, the only example of the date to surpass this
coin at PCGS. Remarkably, the present offering from the D.
Brent Pogue Collection includes six Capped Bust halves graded
MS-67 or MS-67+ by PCGS. Our research finds only seven
previous auction opportunities to bid on any Capped Bust half
dollar graded PCGS MS-67 or finer, not a single one of which
has arisen since 2011.
The provenance of this piece is as notable as its extraordinary
quality William H. Woodin is best known to numismatists as a
collector of patterns and gold coins, but the 1911 auction of
coins from his collection also included over 300 half dollars,
most in high grade. Woodin went on to co-author a work on
patterns with the underappreciated Edgar H. Adams, the greatest
numismatic writer and scholar of his generation, a book that
remained standard until the release of the Judd reference. Outside
of numismatics, Woodin was a titan of industry who served as
secretary of the Treasury in Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Cabinet
before his death in 1934. His passion for numismatics was among
the guiding forces of his fascinating life.
Well provenanced and desirable in every imaginable way, this
is one of the best preserved and most beautiful Capped Bust half
dollars in the Pogue Collection and, therefore, one of the best
preserved and most beautiful Capped Bust half dollars extant.
There has never been a collection that was so laden with gems
that a coin of this quality would not stand out conspicuously
PCGS Population: 1, 1 finer (MS-67+).
Provenance: William H. Woodin Collection; Thomas Elder’s
sale of the William H. Woodin Collection, March 1911, lot 105; John
H. Clapp Collection; Clapp Estate; Eouis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection,
by sale, via Stack’s, 1942; Richard A. Eliasberg, by descent, 1976;
Bowers and Merena’s sale of the Eouis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection,
April 1997, lot 1716; Ed Milas, by sale, July 1998.
Est. $50,000-$75,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 25
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Finest Certified Gem 1812/1 Half Dollar
Small 8
Lot 2012. 1812/1 Overton-102. Rarity-2. Small 8. Mint State-65+ (PCGS).
Small 8 examples are scarce in all grades up to EF, where they
become very scarce. True Uncirculated coins are probably non-existent,
or nearly so. ” — Edgar Souders, Bust Half Fever
A deep blush of orange and rose at the central obverse blends
into violet, pastel blue, and champagne gold. The lighter golden
gray reverse is framed with bright
blue and hints of violet. The luster
cartwheels spectacularly around both
sides, magnifying the superb toning.
The strike is solid, strong on the
central devices and showing only
modest peripheral softness among
stars and legends, those elements
drawn to the rim in this die state. A single thin scratch crosses
from the left obverse field to center beneath Liberty’s chin and a
few light marks hide just inside the rim above her cap. Evidence
of a clash is seen above the eagle, beneath the bust, and in the
left and right obverse fields, subtle enough in each area to be
certain that the dies were lapped after clashing. A single delicate
die crack spiders into the left obverse field from the inner point
of star 11. The overdate is bold, even to the naked eye.
This specimen appears to have little competition for finest
known honors. Graded MS-66 by NGC when last sold in 2009
and now certified as MS-65 + by PCGS, this became the first
coin assessed at a level higher than MS-64 by PCGS. A relative
logjam of six submissions at MS-64 suggests some duplication
on the PCGS Population Report. The Overton-Parsley census
of 66-65-65-64-64 places this coin on top, the lone example
to ever sell at auction with an MS-66 grade. The NGC MS-65
sold by Heritage in 2004 and 2012 is not as fine, and other high
end survivors like the lovely PCGS MS-64 from Col. E.H.R.
Green and Eric P Newman (now in
a well-known Iowa collection), the
Clapp -Eliasb erg coin, and the Reed
Hawn (1973) /Auction ’84 coin fall
into line behind this one.
Only two varieties of 1812 half
dollars are struck from an overdated
obverse. Overton-101, the Large 8
overdate, is quite rare, and none are known in Mint State. The
Small 8 overdate is used only in the Overton-1 02 die marriage,
making this the best preserved of all 1812/1 overdate halves
extant.
PCGS Population: 1, none finer. (1812/1 Small 8)
Provenance: Phil Kaufman Collection; Phil Kaufman to Joseph
C. Thomas, via Heritage, by sale, July 2008;Joseph Thomas Collection;
Heritage’s sale of April 2009, lot 2410, via Tarry Hanks.
Est. $25,000-$35,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 27
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
The Eliasberg 1812 0-110 Half Dollar
Single Finest 1812 Certified at PCGS
A
•j
1
L
r
Lot 2013. 1812 Overton-110. Rarity-1. Mint State-67 (PCGS).
^‘The obverse master die was reengraved at the beginning of this year
and a new hub was made. ” — Ivan Leaman and Donald Gunnet
An amazing coin, as choice as the day it was struck but now
even more beautiful, enlivened with golden tones across the
obverse and pale blue-green around the stars. The reverse is
even richer in color where the golden center yields to blue,
sea-green, and bright maize. With its superb sharpness on the
central devices and ruggedly detailed denticles framing both
sides, the minor areas of softness among the star centers of stars
1 through 6 and at D of UNITED on the reverse fade into
obscurity The fully struck relief of Liberty’s bust is to blame
for the slightly blunt detail opposite it. The details found in the
arrowheads and olive leaves are unusually sharp for the type. The
die state is early, the dies still fresh and unclashed, with none of
the oft-seen fatigue at the periphery. A raised artifact under the
bust truncation is from a die injury, seen on all specimens from
this obverse. Magnified examination finds only the most trivial
of marks and a single thin hairline descending into the field
from star 4. The eye appeal matches the grade and brings honor
to this august provenance.
Run twice through the edge mill, also known as a Castaing
machine after its French inventor, this gem showcases a fairly
commonplace production error in eye-catching fashion.
“Among all of the early half dollars in the Eliasberg Collection,
this has one of the most spectacular blundered edges,” notes the
1997 Eliasberg catalog, rendering the doubled edge device as
FIFFITFYTY CECNETNSTS OR HHALF AA DOOLAR.
This year introduced a lightly retooled portrait of Liberty, a
design hub whose phasing out began in 1817 and saw its last
appearance on two of the 1818/7 obverses. Ivan Leaman and
Donald Gunnet, in their article“Early Half Dollar Edges and Die
Sequences” published in the proceedings for the 1986 Coinage of
the Americas Conference at the American Numismatic Society,
noted that “the curls are coarser and the relief is higher at the
shoulder and breast,” giving the halves of 1812, 1813, 1814,
and 1815, as well as the overdate varieties 1817/3, 1817/4 and
1818/7 a distinctive appearance. Among the issues that show this
short-lived portrait subtype, just two coins have been graded at
the MS-67 level: this specimen and another dated 1813. None
have been certified finer. This is the only 1812 half doUar of any
variety certified at the MS-67 level, ranking it as not only finest
of the 0-110 die variety but quite probably the finest known
of the entire date and perhaps even the entire portrait subtype.
Leaman and Gunnet’s die emission sequence places this variety,
Overton-1 10, as the first 1812 half dollar die marriage struck
after the 1812/1 varieties, which use the 1809-11 portrait style,
meaning this early die state piece was one of the very first halves
struck using the new portrait of Liberty
PCGS Population: l,none finer.
Provenance: Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection; Richard A.
Eliasberg, by descent, 1976; Bowers and Merena’s sale of the Eouis E.
Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, April 1997, lot 1723; Ed Milas, by sale, at
the American Numismatic Association convention, August 1998.
Est. $30,000-$40,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 29
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
True Gem 1813 50 C. / UNI Half Dollar
Finest Certified by PCGS
Lot 2014. 1813 Overton-lOla. Rarity-2. 50 C./UNI. Mint State-65 (PCGS).
‘^Extraordinary error; engraver first began UNITED below claws,
then corrected it by punching 50 C. there. ” — Walter Breen, 1 955
Stellar aesthetic appeal merges with outstanding technical
quality on this gem specimen, showcasing one of the most notable
diecutting errors in the American series. Bright pastel blue
embraces silver gray centers, tinged with gold, on both obverse
and reverse. Seemingly even finer than the quality this high grade
would promise, we find no significant marks and just a trivial few
scattered hairlines, including a couple in the left obverse field.
Central definition is strong despite an advanced die state, clashed
at least once and lapped to remove both die clash vestiges and the
diecutter s notorious error. The impression of the reverse shield
is visible at the center of the obverse, which also exhibits some
traces of clashing beneath the bust. The clash marks are more
notable on the reverse, particularly above the eagle s head. The
inverted UNI has been largely effaced from its position beneath
the present location of the denomination, but U and the upright
of N can still be seen on either side of C of 50 C. Liberty’s nose is
somewhat doubled, a phenomenon known as a “double profile,”
relatively commonplace among certain varieties of cents and half
dollars between 1810 and the late 1830s. Thoroughly lustrous and
beautiful, this example must rank high among the best survivors
from this fascinating die marriage.
Though this variety was known to both J. Colvin Randall
(whose variety attributions were published without credit as the
Haseltine Type-Table) and Martin Luther Beistle, Walter Breen
was apparently the first to describe the unusual engraving error
that is the most notable hallmark of this variety. In the March-
April 1955 issue of Numisma, the mostly forgotten bimonthly
mail bid sale series published by New Netherlands Coin
Company in the 1950s, a precocious but fairly inexperienced
Breen described the variety and noted it was “excessively rare;
first seen among over 500 1813s examined.” By 1988, Breen was
chastising unnamed writers by noting one collector had made
a census of some 50 different specimens, “effectively refuting
former claims of its extreme rarity” Gem quality specimens, of
course, remain incredibly elusive. Though the Overton-Parsley
census includes several gems, this is the only MS-65 certified
by PCGS. Not a single example graded higher than MS-64
by either service has ever sold at public auction, aside from
this coin, which was graded MS-66 by NGC in its previous
two appearances. While several nice Mint State examples exist,
including the one in a noted Iowa set, the Robison-Pryor
example, and the Eliasberg coin, none but the D. Brent Pogue
Collection specimen have ever been deemed a true gem.
PCGS Population: l,none finer.
Provenance: Superior Stamp and Coin’s Hudson River Valley
sale. May 1 999, lot 2 1 82; Bowers and Merena’s American Numismatic
Association sale, August 2003, lot 1429, via Stuart Levine.
Est. $20,000-$30,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 31
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Exquisitely Toned Gem 1813 Overton-106a
An Historic Issue
Lot 2015. 1813 Overton-106a. Rarity-2. Mint State-65+ (PCGS).
^‘The specie in the Boston banks swelled from less than eight hundred
thousand dollars in 1812 to more than seven million dollars in
1814. '' — John Bach Macmaster, A History of the People of the
United States, from the Revolution to the Civil War
Impressive cartwheel luster spins over exquisitely blended
pastel-toned surfaces, with gray centers revealing understated
violet and gold highlights, ringed with concentric arcs of blue
and champagne gold on the obverse, while the reverse displays
bolder azure at the peripheries. A superb gem example, this half
dollar is an aesthetic treat whose preservation exceeds that of
more typical specimens in this grade range. Concerted effort
finds a few short lines on Liberty’s cheek and a single short
scratch above star 7, but little else of consequence. Insufficient
metal flow has left an area of Liberty’s bust and the reverse
portion opposite it, near D of UNITED, softly struck and
containing some original planchet texture, as struck. Sharply
struck and ringed by a strong perimeter of denticles on both
sides, the central devices stand out firmly from the pristine
fields. Stars 1 through 4, at left, lack their centers, but other fine
details are fully realized. A single die clash has left traces in front
of Liberty’s profile and behind her head, along with a retrograde
impression of LIBERTY under the wing at right and an outline
of Liberty’s bust above it. The reverse die is lightly cracked
through the olive leaves and the top of 50, while another crack
begins at the rim below the olive leaves and joins the centers of
UN to the bases of ITED.
With its stunning quality and picturesque toning, this
example spectacularly represents a year of great historic
consequence for the United States. Mr. Madison’s War, the War
of 1812, entered full swing in 1813, with long-lasting effects
on the American economy While the frontier and border
regions had to concern themselves with British-sponsored
native incursions, and the coastal South began to suffer from
the British blockade, certain industries in New England
prospered, taking advantage of the opportunity to trade with
both neutrals and the enemy Northern manufactures kept
the South supplied at high prices, as the South was unable to
move its agricultural products anywhere but New England.
All manner of specie poured into New England while the
rest of the country went without, dependent largely upon
paper money for local commerce. Many of the high grade half
dollars of this era probably first found sanctuary in the vaults
of Boston banks, and gems like this may have remained there
a half-century until the burgeoning numismatic marketplace
placed a premium value upon them.
The Garrett-Pryor coin, sold as an uncertified MS-66 in
1996, has long been considered the standard-bearer for this
variety, though if it has been submitted to PCGS at some
point in the last 19 years (a likely but perhaps not certain
scenario), it has not graded any finer than MS-65. The only
1813 half dollar graded finer than this one at PCGS is the
Newman Overton- 107a.
PCGS Population: 1, 1 finer (MS-67).
Provenance: Bowers and Merena^s American Numismatic
Association sale, August 2003, lot 1431, via Stuart Levine.
Est. $15,000-$20,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 33
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Fascinating Late Die State 1813 Half Dollar
Overton- 109
Lot 2016. 1813 Overton-109. Rarity-3. Mint State-64+ (PCGS).
‘Tifty cent pieces for 1813, 1819, and 1824 are now worth sixty
cents. ” — Orange County Observer, Hillsborough, North
Carolina, July 30, 1881
A spectacular survivor of these dies, made all the more
interesting by its significant die clashes and advanced die
state. Luster cycles rapidly around both sides, a contrast to the
relaxed tones of pale orange, violet-blue, and gold that blend
across both sides. Some hairlines are found with proper light,
but few marks of any consequence. The extreme luster serves
to highlight the centers of each side, drawing the eye to the
remarkable clash mark of the reverse shield that dominates the
area between Liberty’s ear and neckcurl. Multiple impressions
of wingfeathers are noted in the field before her chin, while
several retrograde iterations of the final portion of PLURIBUS
and the beginning of UNUM fill the space between the bust
truncation and date. Radial flowlines push outward, carrying
the luster as they do, drawing the stars on the left all the way
to the rim and those on the right nearly so. The reverse, also
flowlined and somewhat soft at its peripheries, has been lapped
to minimize the obviousness of the clash marks, though vestiges
survive above, left of, and below the eagle. The reverse remains
uncracked, but the obverse fared less well, with a heavy arc
crack from the tip of the bust through the left stars to the front
of her cap, just beyond the lowest point of star 7. Another crack
crosses the date diagonally and hits star 13.
The eye appeal of this piece is very different from a specimen
struck from fresh, perfect dies. Like the other Capped Bust half
dollars in the D. Brent Pogue Collection, it is beautifully toned,
pristinely preserved, and a glorious accident of survival in its
superb gem grade. Unlike many of the others, this coin draws
a sophisticated viewer in through a loupe, examining every
crack and clash, inviting a reconstruction of each instance of
die against die and steel against steel that left this coin looking
as it does.
The Overton- 109 variety was actually struck after
Overton-1 10. As both marriages show significant successive
clashes, the press these dies were mounted on may have had
issues with its feeder fingers, the levers that pushed blank
planchets into the coining chamber and then pushed them out
again after striking. Improperly operating feeder fingers could
result in the dies coming together with no planchet between
them, the situation that causes die clashing, as well as various
sorts of striking errors. The Russell Logan Collection included
an 1813 Overton- 106 struck drastically off-center. Such errors
become much more common (though still very rare today) in
181 4; the Logan Collection included two off-center 1814 halves,
and that of Henry Hilgard included several more misstrikes on
1814, including both off-center and double struck specimens.
The reverse of this piece, despite heavy lapping, shows a
suggestion of a second leaf in the two-leaf cluster left of the
eagle’s legs. Specimens that show a bit more lapping remove
the second leaf entirely, thus transitioning to Overton-1 09a,
a desirable “single leaf” die state. Capped Bust half specialists
enjoy collecting and studying die marriages and die states, and
their research on the rarity of each has become highly refined.
In the 1880s, when stories of numismatic auctions in the
Northeast trickled to small town newspapers like the above-
cited Orange County Observer, collectors were still attempting to
discern which dates were rare and what varieties existed. The
dates mentioned — 1813, 1819, and 1824 — are considered no
rarer than most other dates today
PCGS Population: 1, 5 finer (MS-67 finest).
Provenance: Stack’s sale of June 2006, lot 570, via Richard
Burdick.
Est. $5,000-$10,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 35
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Vibrantly Toned 1814/3 Half Dollar
Overton-lOla
Lot 2017. 1814/3 Overton-lOla. Rarity-2. Mint State-64+ (PCGS).
^^Come on, then, men of New York; let not hail, snow, rain or mud
deter you; come in companies, pairs or singly; ride to this place if the
distance be far, and pay me dollars, half dollars, shilling and six-
penny s. ” — Advertisement for the Eagle Tavern, Buffalo, New York,
February 22, 1814.
The vibrantly toned obverse displays violet surrounded by
cool sea blue and ringed with bright gold and other rich tones.
The reverse is a distinctive blend of springtime violet, autumnal
rose and gold, bright pastel blue in the lower left, with traces
of deep olive around the design elements. The surfaces on
both sides are thoroughly lustrous, with full original cartwheel
present and unbroken. Aesthetically appealing and warmly
toned, scrutiny finds some minor hairlines, but no marks of
consequence. Bold cracks and clash marks dominate both sides.
Several sets of light clash marks are seen around the bust of
Liberty, while the reverse shows much deeper impressions, most
notably including several retrograde clashes of LIBERTY from
Liberty’s cap, now present under the left wing. The obverse
shows a heavy horizontal crack under the date, a fragile crack
across Liberty’s cleavage, and a long bold arc that connects each
of the stars via the folds of Liberty’s cap. In spite of the damage
these weary dies have suffered, the strike is exceptional, with
full centers on each star, crisp design elements, and fully defined
denticles. The overdate is clearly seen under low magnification.
While the feeder finger systems clearly needed work, the
die shop was forging dies that were build to last, able to survive
repeated clashings, cracks, and other abuse without completely
falling apart. Just over one million half dollars were coined in
1814 from eight obverses and nine reverses, which averages to
129,884 strikes per obverse and 115,453 strikes per reverse.
Only one 1814 variety is considered scarce today (Overton- 106,
Rarity-4+), so these numbers are probably not tremendously
far off.
The only 1814/3 certified at a higher grade at PCGS than
this one is the Bareford-Pryor-Dr. Juan Soros-Phil Kaufman
specimen, now in a famous Iowa collection. This one is at least
tied for second finest known honors, though no other specimen
aside from this one and the one cited has ever been graded finer
than MS-64 by PCGS.
PCGS Population: 1, 1 finer (MS-65). (1814/3)
Provenance: Alpine Numismatics (David Olmstead) fixed price
list of May 2008; Heritage’s sale of July 2008, lot 1677, via Richard
Burdick.
Est. $15,000-$20,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 37
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Superb 1814 Overton-102 Half Dollar
The Pittman Coin
Lot 2018. 1814 Overton-102. Rarity-2. Mint State-66 (PCGS).
Always buy the best that you can afford. Fve always tried to adhere
to that.” — John Jay Pittman, 1988
Superb old toning in auburn, dark rose, and olive crosses
deep silver surfaces. The obverse toning clings to devices,
allowing for highlights of other colors here and there in fields
and protected areas. The reverse toning features concentric
circles at the rims around a more sedate gray center. Highly
lustrous and aesthetically appealing, this piece displays a sound
strike from the centering dot to the edge. Only stars 6 and 7 lack
their centers, while the central devices are crisp and defined. An
infinitesimal mint clip, so small that no arc of missing metal
is evident, manifests as a soft spot on the rim at 2:00 on the
obverse and just below 3:00 on the reverse. The central obverse
shows genuine die rust, not the spalling or chipping of the
die surface that is so often incorrectly identified as such. The
rust, present on either the portrait punch or the actual die,
was somewhat haphazardly lapped by Mint personnel, leaving
evidence among Liberty’s tresses as well as heavy lines from the
files and engraving tools that were used to efface it. The fields
are frosty and nearly pristine, perhaps not so boldly lustrous as
other Capped Bust half dollars in this collection but very natural
in appearance. No notable marks are seen, though a loupe finds
a shallow abrasion in the field under UM of UNUM. These
dies are uncracked and unclashed, though some of the eagle’s
leg feathers are softly defined from a gentle lapping.
Pittman’s advice to “buy the best you can afford” has been
the single-minded approach used to build the D. Brent Pogue
Collection since its inception. Among specimens certified by
PCGS, only one 1814 half dollar has ever received a higher
grade, an Overton- 103 sold by David Lawrence in 20 12. When
the currently offered coin was acquired at the 1998 Pittman
sale, its first public offering in a half century, it brought a
record price for a specimen of this date. In fact, even today, no
Overton-102 has ever sold for more. Sometimes, buying the
best you can afford means setting a record price. Sometimes, it
doesn’t: John Pittman acquired this coin in 1947 for $3.
PCGS Population: 5, 1 finer (MS-66+).
Provenance: Barney Bluestone’s 97th Sale, June 1947, lot
1469; John Jay Pittman Collection; David Akers Numismatics, Inc.’s
sale oj the John Jay Pittman Collection, Part Two, May 1998, lot
1463.
Est. $20,000-$30,000
The White House (above) and the U. S. Capitol Building after
the burning of Washington, DC by the British in August 1814.
(Paintings by George Munger)
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 39
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Famous 1815/2 Half Dollar Key
The William R Dunham Specimen
Lot 2019. 1815/2 Overton-101. Rarity-2. Mint State-65 (PCGS).
‘^The high price of gold and silver bullion for some time past in
[relation to] the current paper money of the country has prevented,
and as long as this shall continue to be the case, must necessarily
prevent, deposits of these metals being made for coinage to any
considerable amount. ”
— Annual Report of the Director of the Mint, January 1816
The classic rarity in this series, coined from the only
1815-dated dies that were produced. Elegantly toned with
a fine golden sheen over silver gray surfaces and hints of
bright blue peeking from the rims, a patina that bespeaks
originality and hints at this coin’s august provenance. The
luster is complete and bold, with extraordinary cartwheel for
the issue. Nearly all design elements are well struck, with some
slight softness seen on Liberty’s cheek and all stars but stars 1
through 4 missing their centers. The frosty fields have been
well guarded against contact marks, with just a thin hairline
beyond the tip of the bust seen. A short natural planchet
streak is noted below Liberty’s chin. The dies have clashed but
not broken, with some shallow clash marks seen in front of
Liberty’s throat and around the eagle. At the centers, within the
recesses of the devices on the steel die where lapping was not
easily accomplished, heavier traces of the clash are seen under
Liberty’s ear and within the shield, which retains retrograde
impressions of a few letters of LIBERTY. The overdate aspect
is visible, despite the lapping that left raised lines in the field
above the last date digit; all that now remain are traces of the
upper curve of the 2 on either side of the flag of the 5. This
gem example showcases aesthetic and technical superiority
that would make it desirable no matter what the year, but as a
specimen of the famous 1815, its desirability soars.
Assembling sets of coins by date has been the default
methodology ofAmerican coin collectors since before the Civil
War, when the discontinuation of
the large cent in 1857 inspired
untold thousands of people to try
to find one of every date. Some
numismatists had collected issues
in date order before that point,
but the series that were popular
among European and American numismatists in earlier eras
hardly lent themselves to such an approach: ancient coins,
coins of the world, U.S. colonial issues, medals, and others. A
basic truism among date collectors is that the one date that
is the hardest to get is recognized as the key to the series.
Collectors of large cents discovered before 1860 that 1799
was that key date, with 1804 and 1793 achieving runner-up
status. Among half dollars, collectors knew just as early that
the 1815 was the key to the Capped Bust half dollar series.
Before 1860, 1815 half dollars were commonly sold described
as “scarce” or “rare,” terms whose usage among Capped Bust
half dollars was otherwise saved for Proofs or the occasional
overdate variety Writing in 1859 in his American Numismatical
Manual, Montroville W Dickeson classed the 1815 as “very
rare,” a category the 1815 shared among half dollars with only
1797 and the non-existent 1804. Even as low grade Capped
Bust halves were still encountered in circulation at that time,
circulated 1815 half dollars brought a premium to collectors,
and high grade specimens achieved strong prices at well-
attended numismatic auctions.
Much of the rarity of 1815 half dollars can be attributed
to their tiny mintage of 47,150 pieces, a sharp contrast with
the mintage figures for the rest of the decade that ranged
from just over one million on the low end to 2.2 million at
the other extreme. All 1815 half dollars were struck from the
same pair of dies, featuring a repurposed 1812 obverse that
became an 1815/2 overdate. The entire mintage was turned
over to the Mint treasurer on January 10, 1816, the day Mint
Director Robert Patterson had the unenviable task of writing
to President James Madison to report “this morning, about
2:00, a fire broke out in the mill house, a wooden building
belonging to the Mint, which is consumed together with
an adjoining building containing the rolling and drawing
machines, and also the meting
house.” The fire made melting
and producing precious metal
planchets impossible; no silver
coins would be struck until
1817, and gold coinage wouldn’t
recommence until 1818.
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 41
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II
Beyond the infinitesimal mintage, another little-appreciated
factor may have contributed to the rarity of 1815 half dollars.
R. W Julian s research in the National Archives has revealed that
the entire mintage of 1815 half dollars was paid out to a single
depositor, cited in Mint records as “Jones, Firth, and Co.,” a firm
that had deposited “nearly $29,000 in Mexican revolutionary
dollars on September 18, 1815,” according to Julian. Jones,
Firth and Co. was better known as J.C. Jones, T. Firth, & Co.,
the Philadelphia merchant partnership of Isaac Cooper Jones
and Thomas Firth. Jones and Firth were in the import/export
trade, “very extensively engaged in the Canton and Calcutta
trade,” according to the 1846 book Memoirs and Auto- Biography
of Some of the Wealthy Citizens of Philadelphia, with a Fair Estimate
of Their Estates. They were also involved in the trade to the West
Indies, centered at New Orleans, judging from their deposit of
Mexican Revolutionary eight reales and a mention of the firm
in the incomplete court records of New Orleans in this period.
An import/ export firm was not acquiring half dollars from the
Philadelphia Mint to circulate them; they were turning the crude
productions of the Mexican War of Independence into more
recognizable and refined American coins that would have been
easier to sell in China, India, and the West Indies. There is at least
one 1815 half dollar that has turned up with Asian chopmarks,
illustrated in John Willem s book The United States Trade Dollar
and offered in the June 1981 Bowers and Ruddy sale. Auction ’83,
and more recently our Old Colony Collection sale of December
2005. Others may exist; it is a wonder they’re not more common.
As a class, 1815 half dollars are highly desirable, narrowly
evading the Mint fire of 1816 and a likely fate in a far away
land. In Mint State these survivors are extraordinary rarities.
“I doubt if as many as a half dozen 1815 Half-Dollars exist
in really Uncirculated condition,” B. Max Mehl wrote in
the 1941 William Forrester Dunham sale catalog, where this
coin appeared as lot 700. A small number of gems are known,
including the PCGS MS-65 + Kaufman coin (sold as NGC
MS-66 + in August 2012 for $182,125) that is now in a famous
Iowa collection, the Eliasberg coin, and the piece in the Parsley
Collection. The Col. Green-Eric Newman coin, now graded
PCGS MS-64+, brought $117,500 in November 2013. The
presently-offered Pogue example brought $36 in the 1941
Dunham sale.
PCGS Population: 1, 1 finer (MS-65 +).
Provenance: William E Dunham Collection; B. Max MehVs
sale of the William E Dunham Collection, June 1941, lot 700;
Stack’s sale of the Alto Collection, December 1970, lot 826; Stack’s
sale of May 1975, lot 867; Stack’s sale of March 1982, lot 840;
Reed Hawn Collection; Stack’s sale of the Reed Hawn Collection of
United States Coins, October 1993, lot 685; Chris Napolitano, by
sale; Douglas E. Noblet Collection; Bowers and Merena’s Rarities
Sale, January 1999, lot 26.
Est. $100,000-$150,000
42 STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
William F. Dunham
Dunham was bom in Barnard, Vermont, on October 3, 1857. He followed several
lines of work and was a school teacher, wholesale grocer, and retail grocer, later studying
pharmacy and becoming a druggist, a profession he pursued in Chicago until his retirement
circa 1916, after which he lived for a time in California.
In the 1890s, Dunham gave his address as 67 West Van Buren Street, Chicago. In 1904
he bought an 1804 dollar, which became the focal point of his collection and thereafter
was occasionally mentioned in print. During the period 1900-1910 he was very interested
^ in Hard Times tokens of the 1832-1844 period, studied Lyman H.
Lows aptly named 1899 book. Hard Times Tokens, and published an
easy-finding list or index of the varieties.
In 1910 his address was 530WestVan Buren Street, Chicago. About
this time he gave to The Numismatist two prizes to be awarded for
original articles appearing in the publication in the year 1910. The
first prize was a silver medal issued by the Chicago Numismatic
Society, while the second prize was a 1907 $10 gold piece. The donor
requested that Dr.T Louis Comparette (curator of the Mint Cabinet),
Virgil M. Brand (owner of Americas largest coin collection), and
ANA President Dr.J.M. Henderson act as judges.
An account of a coin exhibit in 1911 drew this notice: “William
F. Dunham showed many interesting and rare United States coins,
including the remarkable half eagle of 1822, a number of rare Hard
Times tokens, and British war medals. However, “a little silver half
dime of 1802, an especially fine specimen, probably attracted as much
attention from the coin collectors as any other of the fine pieces
exhibited by Mr. Dunham.” The 1822 half eagle is now the D. Brent
Pogue Collection coin.
Dunham died on October 12, 1936, in Chicago. In 1939, B. Max
Mehl bought his collection intact. Many of the collection s coins were
sold privately from that time through early 1941. A mail bid sale, ostensibly featuring the
intact collection, was delineated in a very impressive catalog and bore the closing date
of June 3, 1941. However, the collection had been “cherrypicked” by important clients
beforehand, the coins were not removed from the listings, and the “prices realized” list
fooled its recipients into thinking all had been sold on June 3. That said, the Dunham
catalog stands today as a window on one of the greatest collections ever formed.
P O R iE £ $ T IL R
DUNHAM
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 43
1817/3 Overton-lOla. Rarity-2. Mint State-64+ (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Popular 1817/3 Overdate Half Dollar
Tied for Finest Certified by PCGS
Lot 2020. 1817/3 Overton-lOla. Rarity-2. Mint State-64+ (PCGS).
^Well preserved specimens are not common and are well sought after
by variety collectors.” — Al C. Overton
Pale blue toning beautifully encircles frosty silver gray
centers, tinted with gold and rich with luster. Exquisitely
struck, with every star showing full relief at its center and the
central design elements likewise fully detailed. The denticles
are long and complete on both sides. Cartwheel spins around
the obverse, while the reverse luster has both cartwheel and
satiny character. A glass reveals a number of small marks or
scuffs on the bust of Liberty, along
with a scattering of fine lines in
the fields. Die clashing has left its
impressions on both sides, visible
in the usual spots around the
devices and apparently unlapped.
A fine short die crack through
ME of AMERICA provides the
distinction between Overton-1 01
and the Overton-1 01 a die state seen here.
One of the most popular overdates in the Capped Bust
half dollar series, the 1817/3 has long been thought to have
been produced from a leftover 1813 obverse that was never put
into service. While possible, an important data point suggests
otherwise: every 1813 obverse shows the scallop or “bite”
missing from star 13 on the obverse, a distinctive punch that has
long been thought to have been John Reich’s signature. This
obverse does not. Reich’s decade-long career at the Mint ended
on March 31, 1817. Between 1807 and 1815, star 13 shows
the scallop on every known die variety. Among 1817s, only the
1817/4 die shows this characteristic, good evidence that the
1817/4 was in fact made from a leftover 1814 die. Ivan Leaman
and Donald Gunnet showed that this variety used the same
edge die used for two 1814 varieties, the only known 1815
variety, as well as what are thought to be the first four varieties
coined in 1817 (Overton-1 01, Overton- 102, Overton- 103,
and Overton- 110). Clearly a backlog of half dollar dies existed,
since the only known 1815 variety was made from an unused
1812 die and the 1817/4 was made from an unused 1814 die.
But why doesn’t this die show the same star punches as every
1813 die if it was initially made in 1813? There are only two
logical answers. The first is that the 1817/3 was an engraving
department error and that a 3 punch was mistaken for a 7. The
second is that this die was produced with a device punch and
date in 1813 but that the stars were not placed into the die
until 1817, after Reich’s departure, an order of operations that
goes against everything modern numismatists understand about
the way dies were produced in the first United States Mint.
The more logical of these conclusions is that the 1817/3 was
not actually made from a leftover 1813 die, but instead was
the product of a punching error.
Corollary to that, the Leaman-
Gunnet die emission sequence is
useful to place certain groups of
die varieties together, by virtue
of a common edge die, but not
useful to order those die varieties
within that group. If the 1817/3
was actually a die made in 1817,
the 1817/4 overdate was almost certainly the first 1817 half
dollar variety coined.
This is a stellar specimen, one that ranks among the finest
known not just for its preservation but also its strike; compare it
to the Mint State T James Clarke - Harold Bareford specimen
whose centers were so soft that the Bareford catalog describes
the eagle’s head as “barely visible.” Only one other MS-64+ has
been graded by PCGS, a coin sold in July 2013 for $61,687.
The Kaufman specimen, graded NGC MS-66, does not appear
to have ever been graded by PCGS.The Mills-Clapp-Eliasberg-
Soros coin is graded PCGS MS-64 and now resides in a carefully
formed Iowa collection.
PCGS Population: 2, none finer. (1817/3)
Provenance: Possibly acquired by Cornelius Vermeule or
Cornelius Vermeule Jr., before 1950; Cornelius C. Vermeule III
Collection; Estate of Cornelius C. Vermeule III; Stack’s sale of
September 2001 (rescheduled to November 2001), lot 236.
Est. $30,000-$40,000
Jitv
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 45
1817/4 Overton-102. Rarity-7. VF-35 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
The Legendary Overton-Meyer 1817/4 Half Dollar
The Most Famous Rarity in the Capped Bust Half Series
Lot 2021. 1817/4 Overton-102. Rarity-7. VF-35 (PCGS).
cool perspiration always dampens ones hands when the King of
half-dollars first spills from its envelope .” — Sheridan Downey
A non-specialist will look at this coin and see the most worn
coin in the entire D. Brent Pogue Collection, an attractive Very
Fine in a cabinet full of superlative Mint State specimens. A
specialist in this series will see the pinnacle of Capped Bust
half dollar collecting, a choice specimen of the greatest and
most famous rarity in the series. Considered second finest
known behind the discovery specimen, later in the Eliasberg
collection, this is the finest known of the early uncracked die
state, Overton- 102 rather than Overton- 102a.
The surfaces are even and attractive dark pewter gray,
smooth and glossy, offering a pleasant and natural contrast
with the lighter silver gray of the design elements. The obverse
is centered to 7:00, with the longest denticles visible behind
Liberty’s cap and none evident at the tip of the bust.The reverse
is centered just left of 12:00, with nice prominent denticles
framing the base of that side. The devices are evenly worn,
the fields are unmarred by significant marks, and the aesthetic
appeal is as close to perfect as could be conceived for a coin
of this grade level. Some light lines are seen under a glass, and
some harmless surface encrustation among the reverse letters
does little more than offer an assurance of originality. A linear
planchet fissure subtly runs from the lowest two points of star
7 across the tops of LIB and through the cap before ending at
star 9. The overdate aspect is extremely bold, evident to the
naked eye and easily discerned as a partially effaced 4 to all
viewers, regardless of their level of sophistication. A single tiny
mark is seen on the rim atop the reverse above the left side of
the second S of STATES.
Among all the die varieties of Capped Bust half dollars,
there are only three rarer than 1817/4 Overton-102: 1825
Overton-118, 1827 Overton- 149, and 1829 Overton- 120.
None of these is imbued with a mystique that transcends the
world of the self-identified “Bust Half Nuts,” and none is a
distinctive overdate variety that is readily identifiable to the
unacquainted. Just 11 specimens have been identified. The first
was discovered in 1930, when little known dealer Edward T
Wallis, doing business in Los Angeles as the California Stamp
Company, announced on the back cover of his November 14,
1930, auction “We just discovered an 1817 over 14 half dollar.”
Adding that the coin was “Extremely Fine, showing practically
no wear,” he noted “there is a die break clear across the obverse”
that meant “in all probability the die broke in half when this
coin was struck, which would explain the reason for this coin
being heretofore unknown.” Howard Rounds Newcomb, best
known today as a large cent specialist but also a devotee of early
silver, lived nearby and confirmed the discovery, as did Martin
Luther Beistle, then the nation’s expert on Capped Bust half
dollar varieties.
Wallis died in 1951 .A1 Overton purchased the discovery coin
the next year, though he identified the source of the coin as the
“Pratt Collection” and apparently never knew Wallis. Overton
sold the discovery coin to Louis Eliasberg in 1953. Just under a
decade later, in 1962, Overton purchased the present specimen
from a dealer in Oakland, California and sold it to Empire Coin
Company, the partnership of Q. David Bowers and James E
Ruddy When this coin first appeared at auction in 1965, it was
just the second example to appear in the public venue. Since that
time, the feverish pursuit of this variety by specialists and non-
specialists alike has yielded just nine additional examples from
these dies, nearly all in low grades. Wallis’ contention that the
heavy die break was “the reason for this coin being heretofore
unknown” holds water, and undoubtedly only a small number
were struck before this distinctive obverse succumbed.
The 11 known specimens of the 1817/4 half dollar are neatly
divided into two groups: Overton-102 (early die state without
bisecting obverse crack, five known) and Overton-1 02a (late
die state with bisecting obverse crack, six known). The D. Brent
Pogue specimen is the finest surviving specimen of the first
group, with the other four all well-worn, damaged, or both.
Among the 1 1 total 1817/4 half dollars known, seven have been
graded by PCGS. A list of the known specimens follows.
Overton-102:
1. The present coin. PCGS VF-35.
2. The Elton Dosier coin, discovered in 1976, sold by
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 47
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II
Sheridan Downey in 1998, 2001, and 2004. PCGS F-15.
3. The 2014 ANA sale coin. Tooled around the date. PCGS
VF Details, Tooled.
4. The Colorado coin. Discovered in Colorado in 2007, sold
in the 2008 ANA sale. Scratched on obverse. PCGS Good-6.
5. The Overton-Parsley coin. Discovered about 1963, sold as
part of the Overton collection in 1993. Repaired impact mark
on reverse, details of Good.
unidentified. This specimen offers an unmatched level of grade
and eye appeal for the unbroken early die state and is surpassed
by just a single example from these famous dies. Last sold at
auction a half century ago, no other Capped Bust half dollar
in the D. Brent Pogue Collection glows with such an aura of
desirability.
PCGS Population: 1, 1 finer (AU-53). (1817/4)
Overton-102a:
1. The Eliasberg coin. The discovery piece for the variety,
extensively pedigreed. PCGS AU-53.
2. The George Williams coin. Found in fill dirt in upstate
New York. NGC XF Details, Environmental Damage.
3. The Floyd Farley coin. Discovered ca. 1967, sold by
Sheridan Downey in 2002. NGC VF-25.
4. The AI Burke coin. Purchased in 1965, correctly attributed
about 1973, displayed at coin club meetings by the avuncular
Burke, a Philadelphia schoolteacher, for years thereafter. Sold
to Don Parsley by Sheridan Downey in 1997, sold by Downey
again in 2005. PCGS VF-20.
5. The Stewart Witham coin. Sold at auction by Heritage in
August 2010. PCGS VF-20.
6. The Louisiana coin. Announced in the numismatic press
injuly 2012.PCGSVG-8.
Not every coin with personality is rare, and not every rare
coin has personality. The most important American coins
combine mystique with scarcity, usually in distinctive and eye-
catching fashion. The 1817/4 half dollar sits at the pinnacle of
one of the most popular specialties in American numismatics.
Collectors have yearned to own even the lowest grade
specimens, and they’ve paid hundreds of thousands of dollars
for specimens that would blend in to many dealers’ junk boxes if
EAAiT HALF
eOLLAft
Die VAAfETIIS
1 794^1 434
MC. DAMN
^hEkUi
Publications: Advertised in The Numismatist, June 1962,
page 793 and in Bowers and Ruddy’s Rare Coin Review, issues
18 through 22, 1973 through 1975. Illustrated on the dust jacket
of and plated within Al C. Overton’s United States Early Half
Dollar Die Varieties 1794-1836, Third Edition (1990), Fourth
Edition (2005), and Fifth Edition (2013).
Provenance: Oakland, California coin dealer, by sale, 1962;Al
Overton to Empire Coin Company (Q. David Bowers and James
Ruddy), by sale, 1962; Hazen B. Hinman, by sale; Buol Hinman, by
descent; Paramount Century Sale, May 1965, lot 1 1 12; Bowers and
Ruddy Galleries, by sale, 1975; Mrs. Gloria Meyer to Charlton E.
Meyer, Jr., by gift, 1975; Charlton E. ^‘Swampy” Meyer, Jr. Collection;
Mrs. Gloria Meyer, by descent, September 2006; Mrs. Meyer to
Sheridan Downey, by sale, March 2008; Sheridan Downey, by sale,
April 2008.
Est. $250,000-$300,000
RARE COIN REVIEW NaZ2
Spring
Bowers
and m
Ruddy
Galleries
48 STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Famous Early Silver Rarities
Among Capped Bust half dollars the 1817/4 is the capstone, the single variety that combines
rarity and fame. Although certain specialized die varieties might be rarer, these are classics that have
been famous for a long time.
In the half dime series the spotlight is on the 1802, which Harold P. Newlin in 1883 called
the most desirable of all silver rarities. In 1894 it was one of the silver coins given animation and
featured in the poem by Augustus G. Heaton, “The Convention of the Thirteen Silver Barons.”
Although some varieties of early dimes are elusive, none has ever engendered great fame. In the
quarter dollar series focus is on the 1827/3/2, familiarly called the 1827, a superb example of which
was sold in our D. Brent Pogue Collection Sale Part I.
For half dollars we have the presently-offered 1817/4 and the 1838-0 (a coming attraction in
the Pogue series). Silver dollars are anchored by “The King of American Coins,” the 1804, of which
the Pogue Collection has two, plus the famous 1794, another classic in the present catalog.
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 49
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Gorgeous Gem 1817 “Comet Head” Half Dollar
From the George H. Earle, Jr. (1912) and Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. (1997) Sales
Lot 2022. 1817 Overton-106. Rarity-2. Mint State-66 (PCGS).
^‘Feather in cap, due to break in die. ” — Henry Chapman
Fully struck and lightly reflective, this specimen offers a
wealth of fine details not entirely unlike that found on a Proof
striking. Swirls of cartwheel luster are present on both sides,
more satiny and bold on the reverse, where the field shows
less reflective character than the obverse. The obverse appeals
faintly golden over brilliant surfaces, though scrutiny finds
hints of blue inside the rim and deeper gold tones at the right
periphery. The reverse is more deeply toned, showing similar
rich gold over most of the surface with hints of violet and blue.
Details are strongly impressed on both sides, with each star but
star 8 showing its center in high relief and all fine elements
of the central devices fully present. The obverse shows some
light spotting around Liberty’s lower jaw and in the right field
between the device and stars 11 and 12. Well-lit examination
reveals obverse hairlines, though the reverse is entirely free of
them. No major contact marks are seen on either side. The
dies are heavily clashed, with the elements of the reverse shield
impressed beneath Liberty’s ear and outlines of the major devices
present in the obverse field. On the reverse, the impression of
the obverse device can be seen above and below the eagle. A
heavy vertical die crack descends from the front of Liberty’s
headband through her eye, and the injury that gives this variety
its “Comet” moniker is easily seen behind Liberty’s cap to the
denticles above star 8. A die crack delicately connects the D of
UNITED to the first S of STATES, but the reverse has not yet
been lapped, placing this die state before Overton’s 106a.
A superb example of this easily distinguished naked-eye
variety, perhaps ranking as the finest survivor from these dies.
There are just three 1817 half dollars to which PCGS has
assigned the MS-66 grade: this coin, another Overton- 106 (ex
Superior Galleries, May 1991 and May 2006), and the D. Brent
Pogue 1817 Overton-113 offered in this sale. The only 1817
half doUar graded finer by PCGS, a single MS-67, appears in
the next lot. In-hand comparison of this piece and the Superior
May 1991 coin would be required to decide which coin was
finer, and ten seasoned numismatists could be divided evenly on
the question. Other high quality specimens, like the Col. E.H.R.
Green-Newman coin that sold in 2013 and the Reed Hawn
(1973) -Auction ’87 specimen that was last seen in the September
2007 Heritage sale, are graded slightly lower but would also be in
consideration for inclusion in the Condition Census.
Any coin with a provenance to the George H. Earle Jr.
Collection is an item of great desirability. Realizing over
$55,000 in total bids, a record at the time, the 1912 Earle sale
was among the capstones of Henry Chapman’s half-century
career as one of America’s leading numismatists. In a 1918
advertisement, he identified the Earle sale, along with the 1907
Matthew A. Stickney sale, as “the two greatest sales ever made
in the U.S.” Earle, a Philadelphia lawyer whose son became
governor of Pennsylvania, became legendary as a corporate
turnaround specialist; he was talked about as being named
secretary of Commerce by President Taft. Coins were a lifelong
passion, as a profile of Earle in a 1910 issue ofMunsey^s Magazine
pointed out: “He took up coin-collecting as a boy, and to-day
has one of the finest collections in the world, but all the time
he was in college he cleared up enough to pay his expenses
by buying and selling rare specimens.” At the time the sale of
Earle’s coins was inspiring newspaper headlines from coast to
coast, his name was also appearing in election-year editorials
revolving around Earle’s damning Congressional testimony in
the anti-trust investigation of a sugar monopoly. As his business
empire placed greater and greater demands on his time, his
collection fell by the wayside.
Earle’s professional career was not entirely unlike Louis
Eliasberg’s. Though there is no evidence the two men ever
knew each other, Mr. Eliasberg must have felt a kinship with
Mr. Earle through the coins they both owned. Such is the
power of provenance. The Munsey^s profile noted above wrote
that Earle “had a good deal of pedigree.” The same can be said
of the coins he left behind.
PCGS Population: 3, 1 finer (MS-67).
Provenance: George H. Earle, Jr. Collection; Henry Chapman^s
sale of the George H. Earle, Jr. Collection, June 1912, lot 2881; John
H. Clapp Collection; Clapp estate; Eouis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection,
by sale, via Stack’s, 1942; Richard A. Eliasberg, by descent, 1976;
Bowers and Merena’s sale of the Eouis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection,
April 1997, lot 1739; Heritage’s sale of July 2003, lot 7409; Stuart
Eevine, by sale.
Est. $25,000-$35,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 51
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Astonishing Gem 1817 Half Dollar
Single Finest Graded by PCGS
Lot 2023. 1817 Overton-llOa. Rarity-2. Mint State-67 (PCGS).
^^Uncirculated designates a coin struck from the ordinary dies, being
new and usually bright, but deprived of the mirror-like surface found
on proof coins. ” — George G. Evans, Illustrated History of the
United States Mint and Coinage, 1885
A rainbow array covers the reflective, lustrous surfaces. Bright
cobalt blue interplays with pastel azure and autumn gold inside
the rims, while the obverse fields have developed tones of peach,
violet, and rose gold.The reverse is no less magnificent, with subtler
violet and blue tones mingling with gold and peach in beautifully
mottled fashion. The bright reflectivity and satiny cartwheel
enhance the lovely color. The crisp, definitive strike increases
the appeal, making this one of the most aesthetically impressive
examples of this type available anywhere. Magnification finds
some obverse hairlines, including a nearly horizontal hairline
from star 3 to Liberty’s lips, and some microscopic marks are
present, including a small group clustered inside star 4. These have
minimal effect on the incredible visual appeal. To hold this coin
in hand is to marvel at it.
The die state is late for the die pair, with a die crack arcing
from between IB of LIBERTY on her headband, through the
tip of her cap, across the inside tips of stars 8 through 12, crossing
the lowest curl before it spirals to a stop on Liberty’s chest. A
short crack connects that one to the denticles between stars
11 and 12. On the reverse, a fine die crack connects RICA of
AMERICA to the two lower arrowheads and crosses C of the
denomination. The peripheral legends are drawn to the rims,
and areas of frost around the central devices remain where the
die was polished during its term of service. Some faint vestiges
of horizontal adjustment marks on the planchet remain visible
within the reverse shield, and a faint inborn striation within the
metal of the planchet crosses the eagle’s neck.
Outside of the confines of the D. Brent Pogue Collection,
exceptional condition specimens like this one are of the highest
rarity Before the mid-1850s, when collecting the products of the
United States Mint started to become popular, the survival of a
coin in gem condition was a matter of singular happenstance.
the product of an historical accident rather than careful
forethought. For the few collectors who actively gathered federal
issues before this era, condition was of only casual interest, as
long as designs were clearly visible. Early collector guides like
John Pinkerton’s An Essay on Medals, a work on coin collecting
that was first published in London in 1789, made no mention
of condition whatsoever. The first analogous American work,
Montroville W. Dickeson’s American Numismatical Manual of 1859,
likewise completely ignored the subject. American numismatic
auctions blossomed in the early 1860s, but they used condition
qualifiers that are so vague as to sound quaint today. Walter Breen
was fond of calling Dr. Henry W Beckwith, a cent collector
whose cabinet was sold in 1923, “the first perfectionist.” Such
perfectionism, like numerical grading itself, seems to have begun
among cent collectors, spreading to other American specialties in
comparatively recent times.
Even more recently, collectors have learned to appreciate
not just condition, but original surface, embracing naturally
accrued toning and the sort of patina engendered by non-
curated and unsophisticated benign neglect. While numerical
grades are defined at their upper reaches to judge originality
and aesthetics, there is no substitute for a carefully refined eye
and a practiced sense of aesthetics. A coin such as this appeals
on every level, beautiful, well preserved, nearing technical
perfection. Few Capped Bust half dollars of any date approach
its blend of aesthetic quality and numerical grade. This example
stands alone as the only MS-67 1817 half dollar of any variety
graded by PCGS. If only we could know how it survived as
perfectly as it did.
PCGS Population: 1, none finer. This is the single finest
1817 half dollar graded by PCGS.
Provenance: Heritage’s sale of January 2007, lot 968; Heritage’s
American Numismatic Association sale, July 2008, lot 1679.
Est. $30,000-$40,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 53
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
The Earle-Clapp-Eliasberg 1817 Overton-113
Likely Finest Known of the Variety
Lot 2024. 1817 Overton-113. Rarity-2. Mint State-66 (PCGS).
was in bed with a bad knee so I had my secretary bring the catalog
up to me. I jotted down what I thought to be a fair price beside each
coin and then added the whole thing up. ” — Louis Eliasberg, on the
acquisition of the Clapp Collection, 1942
Supremely frosty, a textbook-in-metal of just how beautiful
a natural and unimproved silver surface from two centuries ago
can appear. Both sides are profoundly lustrous, propelling bright
cartwheel across pleasantly toned surfaces. The obverse is silver
gray, mellowed from bright silvery brilliance, with gold and
pale blue around the devices. The reverse is covered in deeper
gold and framed with blue and violet at its periphery. Details
are fully realized from the furthest engraved depths of the die,
from center to rim, ideally showcasing Reich’s design. Liberty’s
portrait is lightly doubled. The surfaces show few disturbances,
all of which could have happened the day this coin was struck,
including a few little ticks in the left obverse field, a thin hairline
scratch from the tip of the eagle’s beak, and a couple of small
contact points above the beak tip. A tiny spot is noted inside
of stars 11 and 12 in the right obverse field. The dies are crisp,
uncracked, and not fatigued. A single mislaid line from the
engraver’s tool is present beneath the tip of the eagle’s beak. It
is hard to conceive of how any collector could conjure a more
honest, more attractive, and more detailed example of this date
or design type.
While Louis Eliasberg deserves rightful credit as the only
person to ever assemble a complete collection of United States
coins by date and mint,John H. Clapp and his father, J.M. Clapp,
remain largely unsung. The elder Clapp, a Civil War veteran who
became wealthy in the Pennsylvania oil boom, died in 1906.
He passed along his interest in numismatics and a healthy head
start in business, to his son, who continued building the family
collection. The cabinet was built via auctions and purchases
from the US. Mint, including branch mint rarities that were
acquired at the time of their mintage starting in 1893. A still-
extant notebook kept careful track of each acquisition and its
source, allowing Clapp coins to be extensively provenanced
today The Clapp Collection continued to grow well into the
1920s, by which point John H. Clapp was recognized as one of
the country’s great authorities on early Latin American gold
coins. After his death in 1940, the collection remained intact.Via
Stack’s, the Clapp Estate sold the entire collection to Eliasberg
for the sum of $100,000, making it the largest numismatic
transaction ever concluded.
John H. Clapp was an active buyer in the magnificent sale
of the George H. Earle, Jr. Collection in 1912. The Clapp
Collection (and, thus, the Eliasberg Collection) acquired
seven of the nine 1817 half dollars sold in the Earle sale. This
particular one appears to have come from a group lot of four
pieces described as “1817. Different dies probably Extremely
fine. 4 pcs.” that brought 75 cents per coin.
The Overton-Parsley Condition Census for this variety
includes one MS-65, three MS-64 coins, and a single MS-63.
No specimen sold equals the quality of this one, with only
the newly discovered specimen from our May 2013 sale, now
graded PCGS MS-65, surpassing the MS-63 level among those
auctioned in the last several years. This appears to be the single
finest survivor from these dies. It likewise ranks among the very
finest of all 1817 half dollars, particularly when originality, eye
appeal, and provenance are given appropriate weight.
PCGS Population: 3, 1 finer (MS-67).
Provenance: George H. Earle, Jr. Collection; Henry Chapman’s
sale of the George H. Earle, Jr. Collection, June 1912, lot 2885; John
H. Clapp; Clapp estate; Eouis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, by sale, via
Stack’s, 1942; Richard A. Eliasberg, by descent, 1976; Bowers and
Merena’s sale of the Eouis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, April 1997, lot
1 745; Sheridan Downey fixed price list, December 1997; David Akers,
by sale, at the 2002 American Numismatic Association convention.
Est. $20,000-$30,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 55
1818/7 Over ton-102 a. Rarity-2. Small 8. Mint State-65 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Gem 1818/7 Small 8 Overton-102a Half Dollar
First Auction Appearance in 27 Years
Lot 2025. 1818/7 Overton-102a. Rarity-2. Small 8. Mint State-65 (PCGS).
^^HALF DOLLARS: The highest premium given for American half
dollars by Robinson & Lee, No. 44 Wall Street. ”
— The Evening Post, New York City, October 21, 1818
Strong cartwheel luster emboldens subtle toning on both
sides, pale gold and blue at the rims yielding to overall violet-
gray over most surfaces and a halo of deeper gold around
the central devices. The sharpness of strike is complete over
both sides, displaying full centers on each star and thoroughly
detailed devices. Some light lines are seen on the obverse
under proper lighting conditions,
but no significant marks or pre-
striking issues are noted. The
overdate aspect is visible under
low magnification, as the top
two serifs of the 7 underdigit
peek out atop the final 8 like two
small horns. That final 8 is about
half filled, a symptom of the die state that designates this as
Overton-1 02a, and the reverse shows a single light die clash.
The obverse has been lapped, removing most evidence of the
clashing, though traces are seen under the bust truncation and
near the ribbon end of Liberty’s headband.
Recession had been endemic throughout the United States
since the end of the War of 1812, an economic trough that
led to a remarkable expansion of lending institutions around
the country By 1818, the poor footing of many local and state
banks led to tightening regulations, all too little too late to stave
off what would become known as the Panic of 1819. Among
the regulations passed in New York, whose banking laws tended
to be more conservative than other states, particularly those in
the West, was a law insisting that banks that issued paper money
would suffer a significant penalty if they were not able to
redeem the notes in either specie (gold or silver coins) or notes
of the Bank of the United States. By this point, federal law had
ensured legal tender status for Spanish- American 8 reales, but
the laws according such status to fractional denominations had
gone unrenewed, putting half dollars like this one in something
of a special situation. Neil Carothers’ numismatic and economic
classic Fractional Money (1930) noted, “With no gold coins or
silver dollars in circulation, the half-dollar was the desirable
coin for major transactions, bank reserves, and payments abroad.
The coins did not circulate widely. They went from the mint
to the Bank of the United States. The Bank distributed them
to its own vaults, to other banks, and to brokers who exported
them.” These “money-brokers” became economic scapegoats
in the popular press as the panic descended, so advertisements
like the one cited above are fairly unusual. Robinson and Lee,
a Wall Street brokerage firm, could have been purchasing the
half dollars at a premium to sell to banks that needed to stay
on the correct side of banking
regulations or for a mercantile
firm who required them for
export, as American half dollars
were particularly popular in the
West Indies and in Asia. This
export trade, and the constant
motion of boxes (a more typical
transportation method than kegs for silver coins) full of half
dollars from bank to bank, has ensured that modern collectors
have a surfeit of lightly circulated Capped Bust half dollars to
choose from, but very few real gems.
The D. Brent Pogue Overton- 102a is one of the finest
examples of this popular overdate variety extant. The Small 8
1818/7 overdate is seen on only Overton’s Obverse 2, a die
employed exclusively in the Overton-1 02 die marriage. The
Eliasberg example of this variety is graded MS-63 (PCGS)
and now resides in a major Iowa cabinet. This specimen has
long been carried near the top of the Herrman listings for the
variety, though it has not had an auction appearance in 27 years.
PCGS has never graded a finer 1818/7 Small 8 half dollar.
PCGS Population: 2, none finer. (1818/7 Small 8)
Provenance: Superior Galleries’ H.W. Blevins Estate and
George Bodway Collections sale, June 1988, lot 5811; Superior
Galleries’ Lee and Shaffer Collections sale, September 1988, lot
4327; Stuart Levine, by sale, at the Florida United Numismatists
Convention, January 2002.
Est. $15,000-$20,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 57
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Impressive 1818/7 Large 8 Half Dollar
Among the Finest Known
Lot 2026. 1818/7 Overton-103a. Rarity-4. Large
^Tailing spring, a guide, . 50. ”
— Thomas Jefferson^s Memomndum Book, August 13, 1818.
Brightly lustrous, with lovely satiny character in the fields of
both obverse and reverse. Most of the surfaces have developed
an even tone of faint gold, though the rims are ringed with
attractive pale blue. Detail is
excellent throughout, and the
overdate is particularly visible on
this Large 8 die, even without
the benefit of magnification.
Some fine hairlines are present
on both sides, and examination
will also find a light abrasion on
a diagonal from the highest point of star 1 to the field parallel
to Liberty’s lips. A short scratch below the ear to the neck curl
is well hidden, and no other significant marks are seen. A small
and natural spot is present above the eagle’s beak. Struck from
an interesting die state of this marriage, this obverse is now in
its second use following its debut in Overton- 101. A die crack
arcs from Liberty’s bosom across her shoulder and hair to star
1 1 and the rim beyond. A short crack extends vertically from
the denticles left of the date, and a tiny piece has chipped off
the reverse die below RI of AMERICA. Several stars are drawn
to the rim. Evidence from a die clash remains at the central
obverse, where an impression of the reverse shield is seen, but
the fields have been polished, leaving no clashing traces behind
but showing areas of frost where those traces once were.
One of only a small number of Mint State survivors known of
this variety, which is rarer than the Overton- 102 Small 8 variety
in all grades. Most Large 8 1818/7 half dollars are from the more
common Overton-1 01 marriage, which shares this obverse die,
and undoubtedly most of the entries of Mint State specimens
8. Mint State-64 (PCGS).
certified by PCGS under their Large 8 category represent that
variety rather than this one. The Overton-Parsley census lists just
two coins from these dies graded better than MS-63.
In August 1818, Thomas Jefferson travelled west from
Monticello to sit on the Rockfish Gap Commission, along
with then-President James Monroe, former President James
Madison, Chief Justice John
Marshall, and other notable
Virginians. After the commission
accomplished its goal of selecting
a site for a new public university
for the Commonwealth, the
75-year-old Jefferson continued
into the mountains to visit several
mineral baths near Warm Springs, Virginia. On August 13,
Jefferson hired a local guide for a half dollar to visit a waterfall
on Falling Spring Creek. The short trip took Jefferson, whose
visionary Louisiana Purchase acquisition in 1803 had helped to
cement his legacy as the Father of the American West, within
approximately seven miles of the modern West Virginia state
line, marking the westernmost extent of his world travels. Two
months later, an Anglo-American treaty yielded an agreement
on joint occupation of the Oregon Country and a border
set upon the 49th parallel from the Lake of the Woods to the
Rocky Mountains, codifying American claims first made by
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.
PCGS Population: 6, 1 finer (MS-65). (1818/7 Large 8)
Provenance: Joseph C. Thomas Collection; Heritage’s sale of
April 2009, lot 682, via Larry Hanks.
Est. $5,000-$10,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 59
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Spectacular Gem 1818 Half Dollar
Finest Known of the Date
Lot 2027. 1818 Overton-104a. Rarity-3. Mint State-67 (PCGS).
^^Phil bought most of the nicest coins in the Eliasberg auction in
1997, then spent the next nine years upgrading as many of the coins
as he could. ” — Jim Halperin, 2008
A spectacular Capped Bust half dollar, stellar in every
aesthetic and technical facet, a coin any numismatist would
feel privileged to study The blended pale olive and rich golden
obverse surface is aglow with lustrous cartwheel, matched by
the similarly lustrous and beautiful reverse, toned gold, peach,
champagne, pale blue, and violet. The strike is firm enough to
educe each star center, an expressive look on the face of Liberty,
and a sharp frame of denticles on both sides. The frosty surfaces
are pristine, notably free of any significant distraction. A very
shallow abrasion is present on the throat of Liberty, a few wispy
lines and trivial contact points here and there, nothing that
would offend even the most strident grade purist. A vestige of
an ancient fingerprint is blended into the toning near Liberty’s
bust, left behind by someone long since deceased. Up close and
at arm’s length, this coin is precariously close to perfection.
Aside from the remarkable beauty of this coin, its die
state likewise engages the viewer, with an extensive network
of obverse cracks. From a point beneath the bust truncation
that appears to have suffered some manner of damage while in
use, a crack stretches over Liberty’s chest to the inside points
of star 3 and the outside points of star 4. Another short crack
extends from the damage point to her shoulder curls, giving
birth to a crack through the first 8 of the date that has broken
deeply enough that the left and right sides of that digit are on
different planes. The depth of that break affected the reverse, as
the centers of the letters of STATES OF show some modest
softness, a by-product of insufficient oppositional pressure
applied by the now broken lower portion of the obverse die.
Atop the obverse, another severe crack descends from the rim
above star 7 to I of LIBERTY. An extremely fine crack has just
begun from the folds of Liberty’s drapery to the field left of the
top of the first 1 in the date.
A world-class example of this variety, date, or design type,
this is one of six Capped Bust half dollars in this offering of
the D. Brent Pogue Collection to be graded MS-67 by PCGS,
an extraordinary level of preservation that is almost never
encountered in more typical settings. The Overton-Parsley
Condition Census of 67-66-65-64-64 means only two coins
from these dies surpass the gem level. Both of them are present
in the Pogue Collection, in this lot and the one that follows.
This was part of the remarkable Phil Kaufman Collection
of Capped Bust half dollars, a date set assembled with coins of
dramatic quality After reaching the pinnacle of the competitive
Numismatic Guaranty Corporation’s Registry, being awarded
the title of “all-time finest,” the set was sold to Heritage Auction
Galleries, which then resold it intact to a collector using the
pseudonym “Joseph C. Thomas” in July 2008.
PCGS Population: 1, none finer. This is the single finest
1818 half dollar certified by PCGS.
Provenance: Phil Kaufman Collection; Phil Kaufman to Joseph
C. Thomas, via Heritage, by sale, July 2008; Joseph C. Thomas
Collection; Heritage’s sale of April 2009, lot 2420, via Larry Hanks.
Est. $15,000-$25,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 61
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
The Eliasberg Gem 1818 Overton-104a Half Dollar
Long Considered Finest Known
Lot 2028. 1818 Overton-104a. Rarity-3. Mint State-66+ (PCGS).
quiet man, distinctive for his acumen, patience, generosity, cigars,
bridge-hand triumphs, shock of gray hair and store of jokes, Eliasberg
enjoyed the coin fuss.” — Baltimore Sun, October 22, 1996.
Another magnificent example from the Overton- 104 die
marriage, probably the second finest survivor of the variety. The
surfaces are resplendent with mint frost and cartwheel luster.The
obverse and reverse are well matched, equally lustrous and toned
with similar palettes of opalescent gray tinged with highlights of
gold, amber, and sea green. Each detail is definitively rendered,
and even the letters of STATES are fully defined, despite being
opposite the worst of the obverse breaks. The frosty surfaces
Paul Revere - silversmith, engraver, and patriot of
the American Revolution - died on May 10, 1818.
(Portrait painted in 1813 by Gilbert Stuart)
show just the most trivial evidence of handling: a few spare
lines, a light vertical abrasion above Liberty’s ribbon end, and
a couple tiny contact points around the eagle’s head. A single
horizontal pre-striking striation is mostly struck out beneath
the wing at left and the shield. The die state is the same as the
previous specimen, with a crack from the drapery to stars 3 and
4, another above star 7 to I of LIBERTY, and the crack from the
shoulder descending until it bisects the first 8 of the date on its
way to the rim. The little chip from the reverse die beneath RI
of AMERICA, also seen on Overton- 103, is visible here.
Blessed with world-class aesthetic appeal and one of the most
famous provenances in American numismatics, this superb gem
half dollar excels in every category It was long accorded the
laurel of finest known, described as such in the 1997 Eliasberg
sale and again when sold in 2001.Astoundingly, there is but one
finer example from these dies, the coin offered in the previous
lot, which is likewise the only 1818 half dollar graded by PCGS
at a higher level than MS-66+.This is the only MS-66+ 1818
half dollar on the PCGS Population Report. Given the mere half
grade difference between this coin and the one that precedes it,
there may be some who prefer this specimen for its fine toning
and provenance. Only in the D. Brent Pogue Collection could a
coin of this quality be considered a duplicate.
PCGS Population: 1, 1 finer (MS-67).
Provenance: Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection; Richard A.
Eliasberg, by descent, 1976; Bowers and Merena’s sale of the Louis E.
Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, April 1997, lot 1749; Bowers and Merena^s
sale of the Collections of Phillip Flannagan, Dr. Robert I. Hinkley, Dr.
fohn C. Wong and Tree Many Feathers, November 2001, lot 4061.
Est. $15,000-$25,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 63
IS
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Important Proof 1818 Half Dollar Rarity
From the Col. E.H.R. Green and Eric P. Newman Collections
Lot 2029. 1818 Overton-107. Rarity-8 as a Proof. Proof-65 (NGC).
^‘What used to make collectors furious and jealous was that the
Colonel could and did buy almost anything he really wanted. ”
— Arthur H. Lewis, The Day They Shook The Plum Tree, 1963
Profoundly reflective and clearly produced with exacting
consideration for its aesthetic impact, this extremely rare Proof
half dollar was struck from freshly prepared dies on a heavily
polished planchet. The response of any numismatist seeing this
coin in hand is apt to be visceral, certain, and instantaneous, with
their subconscious recognizing the stark contrast between the
look of this piece and a typical Capped Bust half dollar of the
era before the mind can even ponder it. The toning is beautiful, a
match to the surface quality, dominated by sky blue with gold and
flecks of violet. The splendidly detailed bust of Liberty floats in
this mirrored sea, her mouth open, her tresses curved like cursive
upon copperplate, the letters of LIBERTY on her capband
finely and carefully polished on the die. Each star has found its
center, and all peripheral details on both sides are elongated, as
if squeezed from the die by force, including
the denticles, the bases of the date digits, and
the tops of the letters in the reverse legend.
The effect of this well-considered strike and
its well-polished canvas is remarkable.
This planchet endured extensive polishing
not only to create an exquisite product,
but also to efface any evidence of the light
inborn striations that were on its surface.
A vestige of them may be seen at the high
point of the central obverse, left of Liberty’s
ear curl and below her ear, where even this
vigorous strike could not apply sufficient
pressure to completely obliterate them.
Some similar striations may be seen on the
Norweb Proof 1822 half dollar, also present
in the Pogue Collection. The polishing effort left behind a short
curved lintmark just below Liberty’s cheekbone, and a shorter
lintmark is seen below the ribbon of Liberty’s capband.
Handled with care since its mintage, this gem specimen
shows only the most minor scattered hairlines. No major
contact marks are noted in the fields, though magnification
finds tiny “planchet chips,” probably actually depressions left
from foreign matter remaining on the die face after polishing.
A possible contact point on the wing right of the eagle, hidden
among the feathers, may also be the impression of a foreign
object present at the time of striking.
Importantly, this is the earliest die state for this die marriage.
A substantial frosty bulge at the tip of the bust remains from the
earliest attempts to efface two severe parallel lapping lines left of
the 1 of the date. In later states, this bulge would become effaced
with more finesse and is not seen on most surviving specimens.
Likewise, the lapping line above the highest point of Liberty’s
cap becomes less stark in appearance, though it continues to be
visible in later die states. The later die states are more commonly
seen, most easily discerned by the lack of the frosty bulge at the
tip of the bust and the presence of stars being drawn to the rims.
Another example of this rare early die state, cataloged with the
notice that “we are unable to find any prior description” of the
frosty bulge, was offered in Heritage’s August 2011 ANA sale.
That piece, graded MS-65 (NGC), had satiny luster and surface,
giving it an entirely different set of surface
characteristics from this fine Proof example.
Long held in the Eric P. Newman
Collection before being sold via private
transaction to D. Brent Pogue, this exceptional
Capped Bust half dollar stands among the
very earliest examples of the denomination
with a claim to Proof status.While some cents
dated 1817 have been accorded some measure
of respect as Proofs, PCGS has traditionally
been reticent to certify any Proof coin dated
earlier than 1821 as a definitive Proof. In
that year, enough Proof cents were made
to derive a standard measure of “Proofness,”
a baseline defined by numerous data points.
Before 1821, clear efforts were being made
at creating Proof strikes, but the data is more disparate, the dots
more difficult to connect.
PCGS has never graded an 1818 half dollar in Proof, though
their PCGS Compacts website estimates the grades of four
pieces they have not certified. One of those is the George
Earle - Eliasberg Overton-113, last sold in January 2013 and
the only example certified by NGC as a higher grade than this
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 65
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II
one. Another, also an Overton-113, was sold in our 2002 Plain
and 2006 Byers sales. That coin has long been attributed, even
by Walter Breen, as the Thomas Cleneay coin. It is not; in fact,
it is not even struck from the same dies. The Cleneay coin,
sold in S.H. and Pdenry Chapman’s legendary 1890 sale, is an
Overton-107, the same variety as the present coin. The lack of
contrast in the Cleneay plate, combined with the significant
toning that has developed on this specimen over the last century,
prevents certain linkage. They may be the same coin, they might
not be, but it is certain that they were struck from the same dies.
If this is not the Cleneay coin, it begs the question: where is it?
The two 1818/7 overdate Proofs noted in the Breen Proof
Encyclopedia, namely the Alto-E. Yale Clarke Overton-1 01 and
the T. James Clarke -R.E. Cox Overton-1 02 were included in
the 1983 Dr. George E Oviedo Jr. Collection sale, but they have
not been studied or offered since. Neither has been certified
as Proof by either PCGS or NGC. Their Proof status may
be deemed questionable until such time that they are made
available for study and comparison to modern Proof standards.
Breen cataloged the Clarke-Cox coin skeptically in New
Netherlands Coin Company’s 47th sale in 1956.
We can confirm only the following Proof 1818 half dollars:
Overton- 107:
This coin. NGC Proof-65.
The Cleneay (1890) coin. Almost certainly the piece offered in
the February 1961 Kriesberg-Schulman sale, though the abysmal
plate quality of that catalog does not allow for absolute certainty.
Other varieties:
National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian
Institution. Overton- 11 2.
The Winsor (1895)-Earle (1912)-EIiasberg (1997) coin,
NGC Proof-66. Overton-113.
The Hain (2002) -Byers (2006) coin, NGC Proof-65.
Overton-113.
Owned by legendary collectors Col. E.H.R. Green and
Eric P. Newman, this coin has no known auction provenance.
It has sold strictly via private transactions since at least the
1930s and probably for decades earlier. Had numismatic
photography been pioneered a half-decade prior to its 1868
debut, we could perhaps determine that this was the “Splendid
Proof” described in W. Elliot Woodward’s 1864 John E McCoy
sale that sold for $5.
NGC Census: 2, 1 finer (Proof-66).
Provenance: Edward Howland Robinson Green Collection,
before 1936; E.H.R. Green Estate; St. Eouis Stamp and Coin
Company (partnership of Burdette G. Johnson and Eric P. Newman),
by sale, ca. early 1940s; Eric P. Newman Collection, by distribution;
Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society, by gift; Stuart
Eevine, by trade, 2007; Stuart Eevine, by sale, via Chris Napolitano,
June 2007.
Est. $50,000-$75,000
Colonel E.H.R. Green mansion at Round Hill on Buzzard's Bay.
66 STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Col. Edward Howland Robinson Green
Green, usually listed as Col. E.H.R. Green, was born in London on
August 22, 1868. His interest in coin collecting may have been derived
from his mother, Hetty Green, who was popularly known as “The
Witch of Wall Street.” Although she was heiress to one of the greatest
fortunes ever amassed in the United States, Hetty lived in relative penury.
Old-time dealer Thomas L. Elder recalled seeing her “when she had a
small room in a plain house in Hoboken, N.J.” After his mother died,
Edward inherited her fortune and enjoyed a life of luxury mixed with
dissipation, as a roue and hoarder. On July 10, 1917, he married one of
his favorite “ladies of the night,” the beautiful redhead Mabel E. Harlow.
Col. Green once sent Elder $5 for some catalogues, but never was
a client. Meanwhile, Green was a good customer of Elmer Sears, D.C.
Wismer, Henry Chapman, and others. B. Max Mehl had heard of
Green s interest in collecting, and sent him coin catalogues gratis for six
years, until in 1921 Green responded with a purchase, after which he
did much business with Mehl.
During the period from World War I to the early 1930s, Green
bought aggressively in many areas, including boats, railroad equipment,
stamps (he was the buyer for the only known 100-subject sheet of 1918
240 airmail inverts), all five of the known 1913 Liberty Head nickels, and
as many as seven of the rare 1838-0 half dollars. He also held dozens of
high-grade 1796 quarters.
In the early 1930s he had residences at Star Island, Florida, and
South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, where he enjoyed his collecting
hobbies as well as boating and operating his own amateur radio
station. On June 8, 1936, Green died at Lake Placid, New York, where
he had been living at the Lake Placid Club. His death was due to
a “complication of diseases.” After his death it took eight armored
trucks to haul his valuables to safekeeping. His estate was handled
by the Chase National Bank, New York City. The appraisal of the
numismatic portion of his estate was done by EC.C. Boyd of New
York City in 1938 and 1939, and a value of $1,240,299 was assigned
to them (as compared to $1,298,448 assigned to his stamps by another
appraiser) .
Many of his estate coins were handled by Burdette G. Johnson, the old-time St. Louis dealer,
who worked with Eric P. Newman, then a law student, in the dispersal. Stacks of New York City
handled many coins, and others went elsewhere.
Hetty Green
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 67
1819/8 Overton-102. Rarity-2. Large 9. Mint State-66 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Pristine Gem 1819/8 Overton-102 Half Dollar
Finest Known from These Dies, Tied for Finest 1819/8 Overdate
Lot 2030. 1819/8 Overton-102. Rarity-2. Large 9. Mint State-66 (PCGS).
“1819 Peculiar 9, believed to he struck over 18189'
— W Elliot Woodward, 1862
A pristine gem, awash with lustrous cartwheel over ideally
frosty deep gray surfaces that reveal the merest hints of bright
color when lit. Stellar quality for any coin of this era, with a strike
as bold as its visual appeal. No areas of softness can be found,
and no marks of consequence are
present. A pair of contact points
before Liberty’s lips and another
behind the eagle’s head may be
all that separate this coin from an
even more wondrous numerical
grade. Coined from an early state
of the dies with no cracks or other
anomalies. The overdate, chiefly visible as an extra area of metal
between the tip of the lower loop of the 9 and the closed top
loop, is seen under low magnification.
Five different obverse dies of 1819 show an 1819/8 overdate,
though one obverse (used in the Overton-1 05 die marriage) has
inspired some disagreement on its status. Overton’s obverse 2 was
used in two different pairings (Overton-102 and Overton-1 03),
making for six total 1819/8 die varieties. Breen divides them
simply into the Small 9, Italic 5 on reverse (Overton-1 01),
the Large 9, Italic 5 (Overton-102 and 103), and the Large 9,
Upright 5 (Overton 104 through 106). As many as five different
die varieties were known to J. Colvin Randall, as published in
the Haseltine Type- Table in 1881, but even earlier the overdates of
1819 caught the attention of catalogers. In W. Elliot Woodward’s
Finotti Collection sale of September 1862, he describes one
lot as “1819 Peculiar 9, equally fine, believed to be struck over
1818.” The same sale included 1817/3, 1818/7, and 1820/19
overdates alongside their “perfect date” counterparts, suggesting
that interest in overdate varieties extends to the very earliest era
of date collecting.
Cataloged as the finest 1819 half dollar ever graded by
PCGS when it was offered in 1989, this specimen has never
relinquished that title. Today, more than 25 years later, PCGS
has certified just three coins of
this date at the MS-66 level. All
three of them are in the D. Brent
Pogue Collection. Among other
high grade examples from these
dies are the Winsor-Eliasberg-
Kaufman and Soros coins, both
graded MS-66 by NGC, but
this piece stands alone among Overton- 102s atop the PCGS
Population Report. The best evidence for its status as finest
known is the voice of the market: this coin’s May 2008 price
realized was nearly twice what the Eliasberg-Kaufman coin
brought in 2009 and more than 70% higher than the price of
the Soros coin when it sold in 2014.
PCGS Population: 2, none finer. (1819/8 Large 9). The
only other specimen certified at this level is offered in the next
lot.
Provenance: Superior Galleries' sale of the Jascha Heifetz
Collection, October 1989, lot 665; Heritage's sale of May 2008, lot
529; Richard Burdick, by sale, July 2008.
Est. $20,000-$30,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 69
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Superlative Gem 1819/8 Overton-104a Half Dollar
Finest Known from These Dies, Tied for Finest 1819/8 Overdate
Lot 2031. 1819/8 Overton-104a. Rarity-1. Large 9. Mint State-66 (PCGS).
^^The policy of our government has been to issue a great preponderance
of halves, and the smaller denominations of coins, under the impression
that they would be less likely to be exported from the country. ”
— J.L. Riddell, melter and refiner of the New Orleans Mint, 1845
Beautiful and highly lustrous, this half dollar exhibits a bright
rose-gold central obverse ringed in pastel blue with hints of
champagne gold, while the reverse is pleasing baby blue, gold,
violet, and deep gray Resounding cartwheel spins over both sides.
The strike is very sharp, showing fine detail nearly everywhere
but the centers of the lowest two stars on each side. Careful
examination finds some light hairlines and a few scattered contact
marks, including a couple just inside the rim at 12:00 on the
reverse and a small batch above 50 at the base of that side. Star 2 is
notably recut, with an extra disconnected point raised in the space
to the stars upper left. The reverse shows a network of die cracks,
including an arc from the leftmost olive leaves to the left end of
the motto banner and another broad arc from the rim above ST
of STATES through the bases of UNUM and the centers of each
arrowhead to the rim below 50. A final nearly horizontal crack
crosses the talons and intersects the rim beyond the olive leaves.
The overdate aspect was largely effaced from the die,
but re cutting is visible below the final date digit under low
magnification. Of the 14 different obverse dies employed to
strike half dollars of this date, five were 1819/8 overdates. Four
of these, including this one, featuring a “large 9” in the date,
while the “small 9” appears only on the Overton-101. This
obverse is unique to the Overton-1 04 die marriage.
The year 1819 marked an enormous milestone in the history
of the half doUar. While mintages over one million pieces had been
typical since 1808, never before had the U.S. Mint coined over
two million half dollars. Throughout the 1820s, mintages of more
than three million half dollars became commonplace, swelling to
over 6.5 million in 1836, the highest mintage of the denomination
until the 1850s. Even after the reintroduction of the silver dollar,
haltingly in 1836 and earnestly in 1840, the half dollar continued to
be by far the most numerous silver coin, and would remain so until
the silver strikes of the Comstock were laundered into government
coffers as largely unwanted silver dollars beginning in 1878.
The present coin was struck amidst the first bank panic in
American history, when falling commodity prices, overissued
paper money, and a land bubble conspired to create a trade
imbalance and a run on the banks. Contemporary newspapers
described a “demand of payment in specie,” not the paper issues
of overextended state and local banks, “the large importations
of which by the Bank of the United States [come] at a great
expense.” Forced to buy Spanish silver on the international market
at advanced prices, it makes sense that the Bank of the United
States and other large banks would seek to convert those coins
into half dollars at the Mint, coins that contained less silver value
but were accepted at the same rate as their Spanish counterparts
in overseas markets. “The American doUar is intrinsically worth
about one per cent less than the Spanish milled dollar,” reported
Secretary of the Treasury William H. Crawford in his Report on
Currency, delivered to Congress in February 1820. While shipping
and insurance costs would have eaten up any profits to be derived
by shipping the coins out of the country at a 1% profit, no such
costs burdened depositors at the Mint. Thus, large banking
institutions could convert $10,000 worth of Spanish 8 reales
into $10,100 worth of half dollars, an advantage worth taking
considering the proximity of the Bank of the United States (at
4th and Chestnut in Philadelphia) to the Philadelphia Mint (at
7th and Filbert, less than a half mile away). The mintage of half
dollars swelled in 1819 as the bank run crested, with millions of
half dollars paid out under duress but very few saved. In 1820, as
depression sunk in, mintages decreased to under a million. As the
economic stress lifted, mintages of America s largest silver coin
again increased, passing 3.5 million in 1824.
The Overton-Parsley census cites a single MS-66 as finest
known from these dies, followed by two MS-65 coins and two
graded MS-64. One MS-65 piece is the Overton plate coin in
the 3rd, 4th, and 5th editions, a coin included in the July 1993
Sheridan Downey mail bid sale of “Selections from the A1 C.
Overton Collection,” a group of just over 300 coins that were
privately sold en masse before the public sale was conducted.
Another is the PCGS MS-65 sold in our August 2012 ANA sale.
PCGS Population: 2, none finer. (1819/8 Large 9). The
only other 1819/8 half dollar graded MS-66 by PCGS is offered
in the previous lot.
Provenance: Stuart Levine, by sale, at the Long Beach Coin and
Currency Exposition, February 2000.
Est. $25,000-$30,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 71
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The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Majestic Gem 1819 Half Dollar from the Garrett Collection
Ex. J. Colvin Randall, 1885
Lot 2032. 1819 Overton-107. Rarity-3. Mint State-66 (PCGS).
‘^When Woodward’s catalogue of the Randall Collection comes out,
you will have an opportunity of adding some gems to your cabinet. ”
— Harold P. Newlin to T. Harrison Garrett, May 16, 1885
One of the most stunning examples of this design type
known to exist, almost certainly the finest example of this
date known, though the only other claimants to the throne
are also present in this landmark offering. Spectacularly deep
and complex tones frame the obverse, embracing sunset gold
and magenta, with hints of forest green and amber orange
surrounding violet and pastel blue at the center - the sort of
toning only years of custodianship and patience can create.The
reverse, perhaps the side that saw more limited environmental
exposure against a drawer in the Garrett Family cabinet, is
subtler but no less magnificent, toned rich gray with pale gold,
sky blue, and rustic olive. The cartwheel luster seems limitless,
spinning over super frosty surfaces. Crisply struck from fresh
dies, the fragile raised die lines visible in the reverse fields
confirm this as the product of an extremely early die state.
Liberty’s profile is slightly doubled, a phenomenon that has
long been observed but rarely explained. A few light marks
are concentrated in the lower half of the left obverse field, and
some trivial hairlines are seen on the relief of the portrait, but
are invisible without a lens and are unobtrusive even when
magnification is used. The reverse is nearly immaculate, with
careful study finding just three individual tiny contact points
behind the eagle’s head.
A coin of legendary quality, with a legendary provenance to
match, this piece came from the collection of the pioneering
early silver specialist J. Colvin Randall. Its quality was fine
enough that neither T. Harrison Garrett nor his sons ever saw
fit to acquire another 1819 half dollar after this was purchased.
Harold P. Newlin, a Garrett auction representative, acquired
this coin for just 95 cents in Woodward’s sale of the Randall
coins, though letters between Newlin and Garrett preserved
in the American Numismatic Society indicate that Garrett was
prepared to spend as much as $2 on it. W. Elliot Woodward
described it, simply, as “Uncirc.”Today, it tops both the Overton-
Parsley Condition Census and Herrman’s listings of specimens
sold at auction. PCGS has graded just one 1819 half dollar,
along with two 1819/8 half dollars, at the MS-66 level, with
none finer. All three of those coins are included in this offering
of the D. Brent Pogue Collection.
PCGS Population: 1, none finer.
Provenance: J. Colvin Randall Collection; Woodward’s 77th
sale of the f. Colvin Randall Collection, June 1885, lot 289, via
Harold P. Newlin; T. Harrison Garrett Collection; T. Harrison Garrett
to Robert and John Work Garrett, by descent, 1888; Robert Garrett
interest to John Work Garrett, 1919; transfer completed, 1921; John
Work Garrett to the Johns Hopkins University, by gift, 1 942; Bowers
and Ruddy’s sale of the Garrett Collection, Part I, November 1979, lot
303; James Bennett Pryor Collection; Bowers and Merena’s sale of the
James Bennett Pryor Collection, January 1996, lot 44; Phil Kaufman
Collection; Phil Kaufman to Joseph C. Thomas, via Heritage, by sale,
July 2008; Joseph C. Thomas Collection; Heritage’s sale of April
2009, lot 2421, via Larry Hanks.
Est. $25,000-$30,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 73
1819 Overton-108. Rarity-3. Mint State- 64 + (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Pristine 1819 Overton-108 Half Dollar
From the New York Connoisseur’s Collection
Overton-108. Rarity-3. Mint State-64+ (PCGS).
Lot 2033. 1819
‘^Thus if the emigrant expected to purchase at haf a dollar an
acre, he will find, when he examines the lot, that it is far from any
town, roads, or settlements. ” — William Savage, Observations on
Emigration to the United States of America, 1819 .
A frosty object of wonder, with brilliant, lustrous surfaces
and eye appeal that easily surpasses the assigned numerical
grade. The obverse has assumed a light and attractive golden
tone, with hints of dark amber at right that yields to bright
cobalt blue outside of star 10. The reverse is chiefly brilliant
silver, gathering some gold at its rims, deepest at the denticles.
The visual impact is that of a full-fledged gem, its cartwheel
bold and untrammeled. Some light hairlines are present on
the obverse, though no marks require mention aside from a
shallow abrasion in the field beneath stars 5 and 6. While stars
1 and 2 lack their centers, all other design elements are fully
detailed and satisfyingly complete. The reverse die is cracked
from the rim along the right side of the upright of the first
T in STATES, descending through U of PLURIBUS to the
field in front of the eagle’s beak. An arc crack barely touches
the tip of the second arrowhead before connecting the tops
of ICA, and another, subtler crack joins the bases of 50 in the
denomination.
Acquired in our New York Connoisseur’s Collection sale,
this coin was one of just 61 pieces gathered by an anonymous
New York City collector in a period from the mid 1960s to the
late 1980s. Fanatical about quality and willing to pay a premium
for the best, the New York Connoisseur acquired pieces from
famous sales including Garrett, Eliasberg, and Amon Carter,
along with several other high profile auctions held by New
Netherlands Coin Company, Stack’s, Bowers and Ruddy, and
others, primarily in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Ranging
from a single colonial coin (the Garrett 1788 Massachusetts half
cent) to 20th century gold, all but one coin in the collection
was Mint State, and most were gems. His prescient taste for
quality echoed the approach of D. Brent Pogue, who likewise
has insisted upon the best. This piece still tops the Herrman
listing of best specimens sold from these dies.
1819 marked a vital year in the history of American
expansion, highlighted by the acquisitions of the Adams-Onis
Treaty between Spain and the United States. By achieving full
control of Florida and the modern Gulf Coast, the Atlantic
Seaboard was united and consolidated under American control.
The treaty also defined the border between the area then called
the Missouri Territory (including most of the lands acquired in
the Louisiana Purchase) and New Spain, including the Sabine
and Red Rivers at the modern borders of Texas, Louisiana
and Oklahoma. A month after the signing of the Adams-Onis
Treaty in February 1819, the Territory of Arkansaw was split
from the Missouri Territory Missouri entered the union as the
24th state in 1821, the sixth new state in less than five years.
Amidst this rapid expansion, the first federal immigration laws
were codified in 1819, and migration from Eastern cities began
in earnest. A half dollar like this one could buy an acre of land
in the new territories, but no longer would it purchase a prime
spot near navigable waterways and established settlements. The
trans-Appalachian West was beginning to get crowded.
PCGS Population: 3, 5 finer (MS-66 finest).
Provenance: Stack’s sale of the Fraser Collection, March 1978,
lot 331; New York Connoisseur’s Collection; American Numismatic
Rarities’ sale of the NewYork Connoisseur’s Collection, March 2006,
lot 743.
Est. $7,500-$12,500
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 75
1820/19 Overton-101. Rarity-2. Square Base 2. Mint State-65+ (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Elusive Gem 1820/19 Overton-101 Half Dollar
Square Base 2
Lot 2034. 1820/19 Overton-101. Rarity-2. Square Base 2. Mint State-65+ (PCGS).
'‘1820 over 1819; the 1 shows distinctly under the 2, but the 9 is
not so distinct under the 0. — J. Colvin Randall, 1881
Festively toned in bright sea green around the peripher-
ies, confining a sunburst of rich orange-gold to the centers,
though the central reverse shows a bit more silvery brilliance
than the obverse. Extremely lustrous on both sides, with cart-
wheel that spins quickly inside the
rims. Nicely struck, with full star
centers and ideally formed den-
ticles surrounding well-realized
devices. The overdate is especially
profound on this variety, visible to
the naked eye and showing much
of both underdigits under low
magnification. While the obverse shows some trivial hairlines,
the surfaces are frosty and fresh, satiny in some areas, free of
any major contact marks or other distractions. A nearly invisible
abrasion might be seen between Liberty’s chin and star 3 in the
proper light, and a short natural striation extends from the back
of Liberty’s cap to star 8. The aesthetic appeal offered by the
choice surfaces and bright, distinctive color would be difficult
to improve upon. The die state is crisp and early, with no cracks
or noticeable fatigue.
First described in the Haseltine Type-Table, authored by
the uncredited J. Colvin Randall, this variety has long been
appreciated as the rarer of the two 1820/19 overdate varieties.
The other variety employs a curl-based 2 in the date and shows
more of the 9 beneath the final date digit. Though 2.2 million
1819 half dollars were struck, there was an enormous drop-off
in 1820, “caused by the increased mint activity in production
of smaller denomination silver coinage, i.e. dimes and quarters,”
according to Overton. Just 751,122 1820 half dollars of all
varieties were coined. Only six obverse dies were employed,
two of them overdated atop 1819-dated dies leftover from the
banner year before.
Though Breen termed this variety “Ex. rare UNC,” the
two 1820/19 varieties appear similarly elusive in Mint State.
This is the only specimen graded
higher than MS-65 by PCGS of
either overdate variety, and no
specimen graded higher than
MS-64 by PCGS has ever sold
at auction. The single MS-65 on
the PCGS Population Report
is the Eliasberg coin, now in a
superb Iowa cabinet. This piece also outranks the Newcomer-
Green-TJ. Clarke-Norweb-Hain coin, and the Col. E.H.R.
Green-Newman coin. This is included in the Overton-Parsley
Condition Census as finest known (listed as a 66, its former grade
at NGC), placed ahead of a 65 and three 64s. In any grade above
Extremely Fine, this variety is prized, though the entire date is
stiU underappreciated for its general scarcity in choice grade.
PCGS Population: l,none finer. (1820/19 Square Base 2)
Provenance: Dr. Juan XII Soros Collection; Superior Stamp and
Coin’s sale of the Dr. Juan XII Soros Collection, February 1999, lot
1 85; Sheridan Downey, by sale, at the Long Beach Coin and Currency
Exposition, June 2006.
Est. $15,000-$25,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 77
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Spectacular Gem 1820 Overton-108 Half Dollar
Extensively Pedigreed for a Century
Lot 2035. 1820 Overton-108. Rarity-2. Square Base No Knob 2, Large Date. Mint State-66+ (PCGS).
^^His collection specialties were coins in general and during his lifetime
he possessed one of the most outstanding collections in America. ”
— ANA Historian Jack W Ogilvie on H.O. Granberg, 1962
Stunningly lustrous, with an extraordinary satiny character on
the obverse and light reflectivity on the reverse, a bright flashy gem
throughout.The obverse shows tantalizing glimpses of bright blue
and violet creeping out from the denticles, contrasting with light
golden toning that nears brilliance at the center but is deepest
inside the rims. The reverse commingling of pale gold and silvery
brilliance is set off by variegated deeper colors at the extreme
periphery. The strike is superb, with just a few areas of highly
localized weakness such as the center of star 8, the tops of 50 in
the denomination, and the centers of the arrowheads. The fields
are both original in their freshness and free from distractions. Our
magnified examination finds just a few spare lines here and there
and a fine scrape under UN of UNUM. If a finer or prettier 1 820
half dollar exists, we couldn’t begin to suggest where to find it.
The dies appear perfect, with no cracks or defects.
The ultimate specimen for a date collector, struck from dies
that are known for being “usually sharp and well executed”
according to Overton. This specimen is beautifully toned,
profoundly pedigreed, and approaches the aesthetic ideal. Just
622 more 1820 half dollars were struck than 1807s of the Capped
Bust type, leaving this year with the third-lowest mintage in
the series; only the mintage of the key 1815 was smaller. The
1820 has always attracted interest and demand beyond other
dates in the series; Q. David Bowers reminisced in the Eliasberg
catalog that “old-time dealers will recall that years ago, when
unsorted Capped Bust half dollars were routinely encountered
in quantity, mostly in grades fromVG to VF, it was the practice
to pick out those dated 1820 as having the most premium value
of any date after 1815.”
While PCGS has split its population information for 1820
half dollars into five different categories, there is not another
MS-66 + coin certified in any of those divisions, nor are any
certified finer. Among specimens of this particular variety, no
clear competitor is found for finest known honors. An NGC
MS-65 was sold by Heritage in January 2007, but it was not
of this quality The Eliasberg coin was certified as MS-61
(NGC). If there were a tie, a provenance to the great H.O.
Granberg, the legendary connoisseur Harold Bareford, and
the D. Brent Pogue Collection might be seen as a suitable
tiebreaker to decide the finest specimen. Few collections from
the first quarter of the 20th century were grander than that
of the underappreciated H.O. Granberg, and few connoisseurs
had such refined taste as the estimable Harold Bareford. The
D. Brent Pogue Collection, though peerless, stands on the
shoulders of giants such as these.
PCGS Population: 1, none finer. This is the single finest
1820 half dollar certified by PCGS.
Provenance: H.O. Granberg Gollection; United States Goin
Gompany^s (Wayte Raymond and Elmer Sears) ^^Gatalogue of the
Superb Gollection of United States Goins Belonging to a Prominent
American” (H.O. Granberg), May 1915, lot 114;Wayte Raymond's
sale of February 1947, lot 504; Harold Bareford Gollection; Stack's
sale of the Harold Bareford Gollection, October 1981, lot 366; Bowers
and Merena's sale of the Gabinet of Lucien M. LaRiviere, Part II,
March 2001, lot 1706; Bowers and Merena's sale of the Dr. Robert
W Swan and Rod Sweet Gollections, March 2004, lot 1458; Stuart
Levine, by sale, at the Long Beach Goin and Gurrency Exposition,
June 2004.
Est. $25,000-$35,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 79
1821 Overton-104. Rarity-8 as a Proof. Proof-65 (NGC)
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The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
Extremely Rare Proof 1821 Half Dollar
From the Col. Green and Newman Collections
Lot 2036. 1821 Overton-104. Rarity-8 as a Proof. Proof-65 (NGC).
^‘That man changed my entire life. ”
— Eric P. Newman, on Burdette G. Johnson
A glittering and highly reflective gem Proof striking,
elegantly toned in familiar shades of pastel and cobalt
blue, magenta, and gold that turns to brilliance at an angle.
Persuasively distinctive from other high grade 1821 Bust halves,
its fields are deeply mirrored and its devices struck up in every
impossibly minuscule detail. Neither obverse nor reverse shows
any frost or cartwheel luster, though the obverse shows brighter
reflectivity than its counterpart. The lovely old toning obscures
some light hairlines, not to be confused with the parallel raised
die finish lines that can be seen under study, but this piece
shows no contact marks of any consequence and has clearly
been carefully handled since its moment of mintage. The fine
raised die finish lines are visible on both sides, an indication of
its extremely early die state, and a batch of stronger lapping lines
cling to Liberty’s throat. A small curved lintmark is present in
the field right of star 2. This specimen is better struck than the
other Proof claimant from these dies, the Gustav-Lichtenfels
coin that sold in the 1975 John A. Beck I sale. That piece was
softly struck at UR of PLURIBUS to the point of obscuring
those letters, while this piece is resounding complete there and
everywhere else. The die state of this piece is early, though a
very light crack is seen above D of UNITED to above STAT
of STATES.
A landmark offering, long held in the Eric P. Newman
holdings and not offered at auction since before World War II.
Just two Proof 1821 half dollars have been certified by NGC;
PCGS has certified none. The Cass-Empire 1821 0-103, which
last sold in January 2013, has been recognized by NGC as a
special striking, graded SP-67*.Two Overton-107s have been
called Proof, the Pittman coin from New Netherlands Coin
Company’s 50th sale and the Hillyer Ryder Collection, and
the Norweb specimen, acquired in 1954; the Pittman coin has
been certified as a Proof by NGC, while the Norweb coin is
considered by many contemporary experts to be a prooflike
business strike. The Cleneay Proof 1821, later in Thomas Elder’s
1910 Mougey sale, was an Overton- 103; it may be the Cass-
Empire coin now certified as an NGC SP-67*. As with many
coins that were photographed a century ago and have continued
to tone into modern times, provenance linking is not always
possible with a comfortable level of certainty.
While the occasionally-encountered prooflike 1821 half
dollars have made the grading services particularly careful
about deeming any half dollar of this date a full-fledged Proof,
this is one of just two examples to have been so recognized.
Owned by two of this country’s most legendary collectors for
the last century, it has no prior recorded public appearance. It
was not known to Breen or other Proof researchers, and it has
never been available to the last several generations of advanced
American numismatists. Its appearance in the D. Brent Pogue
Collection is a history-making event.
NGC Census: 1 , none finer.
Provenance: Edward Howland Robinson Green Gollection, before
1936; E.H.R. Green Estate; St. Louis Stamp and Goin Gompany
(partnership of Burdette G. Johnson and Eric P. Newman), by sale,
ca. early 1940s; Eric P Newman Gollection, by distribution; Eric P
Newman Numismatic Education Society, by gift; Stuart Levine, by trade,
2007; Stuart Levine, by sale, via Chris Napolitano, June 2007.
Est. $50,000-$75,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 81
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
The Superlative Noblet 1821 Half Dollar
Overton- 107
Lot 2037. 1821 Overton-107. Rarity-3. Mint State-66+ (PCGS).
it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it
is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, that the annual tax
on dogs, in the county of Chester, shall hereafter be for one dog only,
owned, possessed, or kept about any house, the sum of fifty cents. ”
— Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, 1821
The only circulation strike half dollar dated 1821 in the
D. Brent Pogue Collection is the single finest example of the
date certified by PCGS. It is a wonder to behold, fresh and
frosty, no less lustrous than the moment it was coined in
Philadelphia. The overall dark golden tone glows with deep
rose around the obverse design elements, particularly at the
periphery The reverse is more sedate and even in coloration,
but no less lustrous and lovely The details are excellent overall,
free from even the lightest suggestion of cabinet friction, but
show some areas of striking softness. The tip of the bust and the
lettering opposite it (A of STATES and UR of PLURIBUS)
are somewhat ill-defined, as are many of the star centers and the
top of Liberty’s cap. The technical near-perfection of the fields
is barely disturbed by a scant few hairlines and a minor abrasion
just off Liberty’s chin. The die states are perfect, uncracked and
unfatigued. With its supreme visual appeal and outstanding
preservation, this is an unsurpassable example of the date.
This coin last sold publicly in our January 1999 sale as part
of the superlative half doUar collection of Douglas Noblet, a
collector known for his good humor, near-constant donning of a
fisherman’s vest, and exacting taste for high quality specimens of his
favorite denomination. As noted in the biography of Mr. Noblet
that prefaced the sale of his half dollar collection, “as a 12-year-
old in 1961, without soccer. Super Nintendo, VHS movies, or 200
television channels available 24 hours a day, the local hobby shop
in Kansas City, Missouri was pretty much the place to hang out.”
A lifelong hobby bloomed from the smallest of seeds, in a tale that
could be told by many of those who read these words.
This is the first public auction offering of any 1821 half
dollar graded MS-66 or finer by PCGS. Just two specimens
have been graded at the MS-66 level, while only this coin has
been recognized as MS-66+ by PCGS. While lower grade 1821
half dollars are not particularly uncommon, gem condition
specimens of this date are as rare or rarer than any date from the
first half of the Capped Bust half dollar series.
PCGS Population: 1, none finer. This is the single finest
1821 half dollar certified by PCGS.
Provenance: Bowers and Merena’s sale of the Chris Schenkel
Collection, November 1990, lot 263; Douglas L. Noblet Collection;
Bowers and Merena’s Rarities Sale,fanuary 1999, lot 34; David W
Akers, by sale, at the American Numismatic Association convention,
August 2002.
Est. $20,000-$30,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 83
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
The Prized Pittman 1822 Overton-101 Half Dollar
A Much-Debated Overdate
Lot 2038. 1822/“!” Overton-101. Rarity-1. Mint State-66 (PCGS).
“Beistle did not know this variety was an overdate. ”
— Walter Breen, 1 955
^Wariety is NOT an overdate !” — Stephen Herrman, 2014
With frosty surfaces, satiny luster, and a blush of deep gold
toning setting devices off from brilliant fields, this piece exceeds
every reasonable expectation for how beautiful a gem Bust half
dollar should be. The reverse, ringed in blue and toned an overall
gold, is as magnificent as the obverse, just as frosty but even bolder
in cartwheel. The superlative eye appeal persists under a critical
magnified eye, which finds some light abrasions
on Liberty’s portrait, a single vertical hairline in
the right obverse field, and an infinitesimal nick
on the rim above star 4. The strike is excellent
for the date, though not absolutely complete, with
small flat areas inside the bottom two stars on
each side and on A in STATES. A few planchet
striations at the tip of the bust were not struck
firmly enough to have been entirely obliterated,
but the detail in that part of the device remains
strong. No clash marks are evident, though the
stars at the left side of the obverse are drawn to the
rim and a light die crack is visible through the right two olive leaf
clusters and the denomination.
Perhaps no variety in this series has evoked as much back-
and-forth commentary as the 1822 Overton-101. Neither J.
Colvin Randall nor M.L. Beistle described the artifact seen at
the base of the second 2 in the date as an overdate, nor did
any other writer before 1955, so far as we can tell. In his 1988
Encyclopedia, Walter Breen claimed credit for being the first to
describe it as an overdate, referencing his description in the
March- April 1955 issue of Numisma, published by the New
Netherlands Coin Company. He noted in the Encyclopedia,
apropos to a large but unclear enlargement of the date area,
that “overdate is never much plainer than on ill[ustration].”
His attribution of this variety as an overdate remained
unquestioned, at least in print, for years. It remains described
as an overdate in the Guide Book to the present day, and PCGS
and NGC both continue to use the traditional attribution. In
our 1997 Eliasberg catalog, the questions about this variety
were discussed. “Historically, this variety has been attributed as
an 1822/1 overdate,” the note read, but “more recent opinion
by many specialists is that this irregularity is from a damaged
date punch and not an actual overdate.” David Akers, writing in
the Pittman catalog of 1998, diplomatically called the overdate
“highly questionable.” Well-regarded Capped Bust half dollar
specialist Stephen Herrman, the compiler and publisher of
Auction and Mail Bid Prices Realized for Bust
Half Dollars 1794-1839, usually abbreviated as
AMBPR, has included a less diplomatic note
beneath his listings for 1822 Overton-101 in
recent editions: “Variety is NOT an overdate!”.
While there is clearly something lurking within
the base of the second 2 of the date, most
students of the series now agree that it is not a
partially effaced underdigit.
This prize from the Pittman and Pogue
collections has been previously offered at
auction just once since 1947. It is the only
PCGS-certified specimen of this variety graded MS-65 or
higher to ever be offered at auction. Standing alone atop the
PCGS Population Report as the only MS-66 from these dies,
it is followed by just a single MS-65. Beyond its technical
excellence, its surfaces and toning showcase the ancient
originality that has become associated with the John Jay Pittman
provenance. Pittman paid $3.60 for this coin in 1947.
PCGS Population: l,none finer.
Provenance: Barney Bluestone’s 97th Sale, June 1947, lot 1494;
John Jay Pittman Collection; David Akers Numismatics, Inc.’s sale of the
John Jay Pittman Collection, Part Two, May 1998, lot 1477.
Est. $20,000-$30,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 85
1822 Overton-103. Rarity-8 as a Proof. Proof- 65 + Cameo (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
The Cleneay-Norweb Gem Proof 1822 Half Dollar
The Only Proof Overton- 103 Known
One of Two Proof 1822 Half Dollars Extant
Lot 2039. 1822 Overton-103. Rarity-8 as a Proof. Proof-65+ Cameo (PCGS).
^‘The collection of Thomas Cleneay is said to be the most costly, most
numerous, and most valuable in the United States. ”
— Kings Pocket-Book of Cincinnati, 1879.
An utterly spectacular achievement in metal, evidence of
the lessons the U.S. Mint learned through their occasional
experimentation with special strikes prior to 1821 and their
more methodical approach to creating Proof coins beginning in
that year. The planchet has been polished to a reflective sheen
over its entire surface, rendering an ideal canvas upon which
to strike a design whose device has been frosted to provide
maximum contrast. This Proof shows many of the hallmarks
of later Proof strikings, including the fine microscopic field
texturing that resembles striae gravidarum, squared rims,
and complete design detail. However, it also shares some
commonalities with earlier special strikings, including slight
planchet imperfections that here manifest as a vertical striation
through Liberty’s ear and E of LIBERTY, another less notable
striation in the left obverse field that is chiefly visible because
of a planchet gap or natural depression inside of the highest tip
of star 1 , and some other lighter striations that were well struck
out and are only barely visible elsewhere. Examination finds no
lintmarks, nor evidence of double striking (which was rarely, if
ever, employed to produce early Proof coins such as this), but
regardless this is obviously a Proof. Further, it acts as a useful
bridge, a way to approach and study other similar coins of this
era that are clearly special, but that some experts in the field
are loathe to label as fully Proof. The imprecise terminology of
the past, when any coin with reflective fields (or, worse, a post-
Mint polishing) was termed a Proof has yielded to a modern
reticence to use that label for some coins. Some of this reticence
stems from a lack of vocabulary: modern numismatists use a
term — Proof — that did not exist in coining parlance in 1822,
and have defined it in a way that would befuddle the coiners
of that era.
This Proof specimen is majestically beautiful, with the
brightness of chrome slightly mellowed by toning overlaid by
countless decades, accruing bright magenta and blue at the
rims and a fine sheen of pale gold over the centers. Technically
choice and showing only the scarcest of scattered hairlines, this
piece has been cherished since its manufacture. Each detail
is definitive, making this the ultimate exemplar of the design
type. The die state is very early, with the fine polish lines near
Liberty’s chin still evident and the recutting on star 10 crisp.
The tops of both the first and second U and M in UNUM
have been polished away as part of the process of making the die
faces gleam in preparation of striking the ultimate half dollar of
this date. In that mission, the coiners succeeded.
Writing about the presence of Proof 1822 Overton-1 03 half
dollars in the 1890 Cleneay and 1961 Lichtenfels sales, Walter
Breen wrote in his Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Proof
Coins that “the Cleneay plate is not clear enough to tell if these
two are the same coin.” Our copy of the Cleneay sale makes
the question clear with absolute certainty, showing the tiny spot
near stars 1 and 2 and the spot on Liberty’s neck with clarity,
confirming that Cleneay’s coin is the same one Mrs. Emery
May Norweb purchased from the Lichtenfels sale, the same coin
offered here.
Thomas Cleneay was one of the great American collectors of
his day, a studious gatherer of coins and tokens. Native American
artifacts, art objects, and more. He particularly liked Proof coins,
as was noted in an analysis of his collection that appeared in
the American Journal of Numismatics after the December 1890
auction of his cabinet, “the result of nearly forty years’ labor on
the part of its late owner.” “From an inspection of the catalogue
it appears that his aim was to secure the best specimens
attainable, whether Proofs or Uncirculated, of United States
coinage,” the review noted, “the coins are so uniformly fine
that it was a matter of some difficulty for the compilers to call
the special attention of buyers to particular examples.” Listing
some of the auction’s highlights, this coin was noted along with
a Proof 1821, 1838, “and others at nearly as high prices.” The
present specimen realized $17.
The provenance of this coin following the Cleneay sale is
murky Most writers agree that the rare early Proof coins offered
in the February 1961 Gustav Lichtenfels sale were formerly the
property ofVirgil Brand. However, this connection may be based
on nothing more than speculation and the Brand-Lichtenfels
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 87
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II
connection inspired by the March 1964 Kreisberg-Schulman
sale that named both consignors. Of course, being speculative
doesn’t necessarily mean this attribution is incorrect. The only
other sensible origin for the coins is the Waldo Newcomer
and Col. E.LI.R. Green collections. With a bit of original
source research, using the Brand notebooks at the American
Numismatic Society or the Newcomer and Green inventories
that exist in private hands, this is an answerable question.
Just two confirmed Proof examples of this date exist: this
coin and the Pittman coin, an Overton-114 that last sold in the
Eugene Gardner sale of June 2014. Others are unconfirmed and
unlikely to meet modern definitions of Proof status. The Reed
Hawn 0-111 and the George Scanlon 0-114 have not been
sold as Proofs since the early 1970s and are extremely dubious.
The Eliasberg Overton-114 is an interesting coin, cataloged as
“Proof-64 in our opinion, however, as will be seen, opinions
may differ, the final determination rests with the buyer. Not
all things in numismatics have precise yes-or-no answers.” The
coin has never been certified as a Proof by either service and
is widely considered a prooflike business strike; it last sold as a
PCGS MS-66. The only Proof to have been certified by NGC
is the Pittman coin (graded Proof-64), and the only specimen
to have been certified by PCGS is this one. While PCGS shows
three entries for Proof 1822 half dollars on their Population
Report, all of them represent submissions of this coin, including
two before 2003.
This is the single earliest Proof half dollar certified by PCGS,
a coin of great rarity and history, pedigreed to several collections
whose names are spoken with reverence. The finer of just two
examples of this date known in Proof, it is among the highlights
of the D. Brent Pogue Collection of Capped Bust half dollars, a
coin that is both unmistakable and irreplaceable.
PCGS Population: l,none finer.
Publications: Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Proof
Coins, 1 722-1959 by Walter Breen, page 44.
Provenance: Thomas Cleneay Collection, before 1887; S.H.
and Henry Chapman’s sale of the Cleneay Collection, December
1890, lot 1152; Virgil Brand Collection (speculative, but likely);
Abner Kreisberg and Hans Schulman’s sale of the Gustav Lichtenfels
Collection, February 1961, lot 2755; Mrs. Emery May Norweb
Collection; Bowers and Merena’s sale of the Norweb Collection, Part
III, November 1988, lot 3077; Goldberg Coins and Collectibles’ sale
of February 2003, lot 1837; Joseph O’Connor to an anonymous
collector, by sale, 2004; Richard Burdick, by sale, July 2007.
Est. $75,000-$125,000
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88 STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
The Cleneay Sale Reviewed in American Journal of Numismatics
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STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 89
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Dollars
World-Class 1822 Overton-105 Half Dollar
With Provenance to 1911
Lot 2040. 1822 Overton-105. Rarity-3. Mint State-66 (PCGS).
M little below, we saw three hunters with several dogs;
they had just killed a fine young deer in the river, and were
skinning it on the bank. We bought a hindquarter, it weighed
fifteen or sixteen pounds, for 50 cents. ”
— John Woods, Two Years Residence on the English Prairie
in the Illinois County, United States, 1822
The brightest of blues is made brighter at the rims as the
lustrous cartwheel passes it, corralling deep golden centers
that turn orange and violet before the azure frame. A coin of
exquisite aesthetic appeal, richly lustrous and colored no less
beautifully than a tropical bird. The detail is complete on both
sides, with full star centers and each fine interstice of the devices
well realized. The surfaces are fascinating, as both obverse and
reverse show fine raised texture indicative of a rusted die
face. Die rust is typically a misnomer, a misunderstanding of
spalling, which involves a steel surface chipping, not oxidizing,
but the dies used to strike this coin appear to show actual
rust. Die rust as here is very unusual, making this an especially
fascinating coin to study A vertical planchet striation was not
completely struck out at central obverse, visible right of the
corner of Liberty’s eye and descending to her cheek. A similar
artifact is noted on her shoulder curl. The surfaces are free
of significant post-striking defects, with just a short hairline
visible on the bust. The reverse die is cracked in a broad arc
from above TES of STATES, through OF AMERICA and past
the arrowheads, before intersecting with the stop after C and
stopping at the C itself.
Extraordinary in both its aesthetic and technical excellence,
this piece is ranked atop the Overton-Parsley census for the
variety. Precious few 1822 half dollars of any variety have
survived in such a remarkable state of preservation, and fewer
still exhibit this kind of visual presence. The only other PCGS
MS-66 is the prooflike Eliasberg Overton-1 14.The only auction
record of a PCGS MS-67 comes from RARCOA’s session of
Auction ’90; it is possible that the three entries for MS-67 on
the Population Report all represent that coin, as we are unable
to confirm the existence of another.The appearance of this coin
and the 1822 Overton-101 two lots previous represent just the
third and fourth recorded auction appearances of any PCGS-
certified 1822 half dollar in a grade higher than MS-65.
PCGS Population: 2, 3 finer (MS-67).
Provenance: Thomas Elder’s sale of the E.J. Woodgate Collection,
March 191 1, lot 299; Wayte Raymond’s sale of February 1947, lot
508; Stack’s sale of March 1990, lot 125; Phil Kaufman Collection;
Phil Kaufman to Joseph C. Thomas, via Heritage, by sale, July 2008;
Joseph C. Thomas Collection; Heritage’s sale of April 2009, lot 2428,
via Earry Hanks.
Est. $20,000-$30,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
91
UNITED STATES SILVER DOLLARS 1794-1795
Silver dollars, the largest silver coins of the realm,
became a reality in October 1794 when 1,758 coins of
the Flowing Hair design were selected as being suitable
for circulation. By that time the dollar was a familiar term
in America. Indeed, Continental Currency notes issued
by the fledgling American government in the 1770s had
been denominated in Spanish milled dollars — the popular
name for silver coins of the eight reales value.
Following passage of the Mint Act of April 2, 1792,
authorization was provided for the coinage of copper half
cents and cents, silver half dimes, dimes, quarters, half dollars,
and dollars, and gold quarter eagles, half eagles, and eagles.
Before the coinage of precious metals could take place at
the new Mint, however, a surety bond was required, which
at the time of that facility’s opening in 1793, was too high
to be met. Thus only copper coins were struck in 1793,
beginning with cents, struck in February, delivered by the
coiner on March 1, and released into circulation March 15.
The surety bond requirements were adjusted and
met in 1794. While the coinage of half cents and cents
was done for the Mint’s own account, and a profit was
registered on the difference between face value and the
cost of copper, silver and gold coins were minted only
at the specific request of depositors. In the early 1790s
the Mint had no bullion account of its own. A depositor
of silver or gold had to call at the Mint at a later time to
receive coins.
The first silver dollars were made in October 1794,
followed by half dollars soon after. The obverse was what
numismatists call the Flowing Hair design, with Miss
Liberty facing right and tresses of hair streaming to the left.
All 1794 and 1795 dollars have 8 stars to the left and 7 to
the right. Later star counts and arrangements varied. The
reverse depicts an eagle perched on a small cloud enclosed
within an open wreath. Half dime dies were also prepared
in 1794, but they were not used until 1795. Numismatists
view the Flowing Hair coins to be of special desirability,
the first entries in a type set of American silver issues.
Among silver dollars of the Flowing Hair design there
is one die combination for the classic 1794 and over two
dozen for 1795.
The present offering of Flowing Hair dollars from the
D. Brent Pogue Collection is far and away the finest ever
for the varieties we present.
Flowing Hair Silver Dollars
Flowing Hair - Small Eagle
1794-1795
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 93
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II
A Family AfFair
by David E. Tripp
English Gentleman, of family and fortune, of the name of Strickland .... will, I expect, be at Mt. Vernon before I shall. If this is
the case ... / request you treat him with all the attention and civility in your power. He is a plain man in his dress and manners.... ''
— George Washington to William Pearce, March 29, 1795
In October, 1964, an auction at Christie’s in London
of a portion of the coin collection belonging to the 4^^
Baron St. Oswald of NosteU was highlighted by a section
containing 30 United States coins struck in 1794-1795.
The coins, with a face value of $6.72
were, for the most part, in nearly pristine
condition. The announcement of the
sale created a furor of interest in the
United States, and a number of eminent
collectors and dealers made their way
across the Atlantic to examine the coins
and bid at the auction.
Over the next three decades, an
undocumented theory that an ancestor
of the auction’s consignor, also named
Major the Lord St. Oswald, M.C. (or
Sir Rowland Winn), had acquired the
coins at the Philadelphia Mint in the
years of manufacture and that they had
descended in the family found general,
unquestioned, acceptance.
In 1994, an article dismissed this
hypothesis. It noted that there was no
“Major the Lord St. Oswald, M.C.” in 1794-1795 (the
title didn’t exist until 1885 nor, until 1914, did the military
decoration, M.C. [Military Cross]). The article posited
(based on correspondence with the then Lord St. Oswald
[family name, Winn]) that no member of the Winn family
had visited the United States in the 18^^ century, and that
“It now appears certain the United States coins in the
1964 sale were not obtained directly from the Mint by a
St. Oswald [Winn] family member.”
However, new research, archival, numismatic, and
genealogical, has produced a compelling body of
circumstantial evidence that the St. Oswald coins were
originally acquired by William Strickland (1753-1834), later
6^^ Baronet of Boynton. He paid a lengthy visit to the United
States in 1794-1795, and was a member of the Winn family
through which the coins descended until their sale.
Strickland, a nephew of Sir Rowland Winn, 5^^ Baronet
of NosteU (1739-1785), was a coin coUector himself, and
“actively expanded” both his father’s coin coUection and
library “rich in numismatic texts.” Following Strickland’s
death in 1834, “[t]he coins duly made their way to
NosteU.” They were acquired by Strickland’s son-in-law
(and cousin) Charles Winn, from whom they passed to his
son, Rowland Winn, later V Baron St. Oswald of NosteU
(William Strickland’s grandson).
In 1981 and 1992, additional groups
of coins from the coUection were
removed from NosteU Priory and sold at
Christie’s. The second parcel contained
two 1794 half cents and an additional
two 1794 cents, aU weU preserved,
together with a circulated 1793 Chain
cent, and approximately 50 United States
colonial and post-colonial coins. These
were the type of coins that would have
been circulating during Strickland’s tour
of America, and together the contents
of the 1964 and 1992 offerings not
only provide a fascinating numismatic
sidelight, but more fuUy cement the
identity of the original acquirer.
WiUiam Strickland’s ten month tour
of the United States in 1794-1795 was
remarkable. Not only did he spend over
four months in the nation’s capital, Philadelphia, but he
had a wide circle of acquaintances in America’s governing
circles; he knew a good number of the Founding Fathers
sociaUy was a guest at both Mount Vernon and MonticeUo
and became, upon his return to England, a correspondent
of both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
William Strickland and his Tour of the
United States of America
WiUiam Strickland was an accomplished man with a
wide spectrum of interests and talents. A gentleman farmer,
antiquary, artist, naturalist, scientist, and coUector, he first
set foot in New York on September 20, 1794, a sunny
Saturday His journey aboard the American merchantman.
Fair American, had taken two months, during which
time the ship had once been boarded and rummaged by
seamen from the British frigate Thetis.
Upon his arrival in New York, Strickland was
immediately taken under the wing of “Mr: [WiUiam]
Seton, a Gentleman of the first respectability in the place,
on whom I [was] to rely for much assistance while in this
Sir William Strickland, 6th Baronet
of Boynton (1753-1834) by John
Partridge, 1828 (Collection of the
New-York Historical Society)
94 STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Silver Dollars
r
. /■ ftj, 1
i I -Tj ■*
^ ■i.- * *
^ , — ,
^ k --v ;^ . - r^
T V •■'ii .
w _
^
if:*':.-
Bank book for William Strickland’s account with the Bank ofNewYork (1794-1795).
(Collection of the New-York Historical Society)
country.” Seton (1746-1798), the first Cashier of the Bank
of New York, later served on its board of directors, and
had assisted Alexander Hamilton’s research for one of the
United States Mint’s birth certificates, the 1791 report,
“On the Establishment of a Mint.”
Seton found Strickland lodging and introduced him to
the British Minister Plenipotentiary, George Hammond,
who, Strickland noted, didn’t much care for the country
to which he had been posted. On September 27, 1794,
Strickland opened an account at the Bank of New York
indicating that he had brought some 200 guineas for his
expenses.
On October 6^^, Strickland began a 900-mile journey
on horseback from New York City to Saratoga, to Albany,
then through Connecticut to Boston, where he saw “the
unfortunate fields of Bunker’s Hill,” returning via the
coast to New York by the end of November. An outgoing
and insatiably curious man who was armed with letters
of introduction to a panoply of America’s leading citizens,
he nevertheless felt that, ''being an Englishman, is the best
passport any one can have in this country,” and so he met,
spoke, and learned about America from citizens in all
walks of life. He made notes on American industry (he
visited cotton and wool mills, glass works, sawmills, and
the “foundry for casting brass artillery” at Springfield),
agriculture (he was not impressed), real estate (prime
building lots in Philadelphia were “£60. per foot in front”),
wages, law-making, and jurisprudence. Many of these were
later published in his Observations on the Agriculture of the
United States of America, London, 1796 and his fournal of a
Tour in the United States of America: 1794-1795, New York,
1971 (the fournal ends in November 1794 in Boston, and
the rest of Strickland’s tour must be reconstructed from a
variety of sources, some as yet unpublished).
During the New York leg of his travels he met with
Alexander Hamilton’s father-in-law, Philip Schuyler, and
stayed with founding father. Chancellor
Robert Livingston at Clermont, from
which he departed “with regret.” In
Connecticut he was given a tour of the
Hartford environs by then member of
Congress, Jeremiah Wadsworth, who
introduced him to the state’s governor and
signer of the Declaration of Independence,
Samuel Huntington. And in Massachusetts
Strickland presented his letters of
introduction to Vice President John
Adams; although their meeting at this time
was short. Strickland later (c. 1796-1797)
wrote to a friend regarding Adams election
to the presidency that, “I know him well
and believe him worthy to sit in the Chair
in which Washington proceede[d him].”
Strickland arrived in Philadelphia in mid-December
where, he wrote, having “already become acquainted
with some of the leading characters of the country [....] I
have every reason to believe I shall spend the next three
months in the most interesting society, of which I ever did
or probably ever shall make a part.” He was right.
By December 22, 1794 Strickland had already “once
attended” a debate in Congress, and while waiting “for my
cloaths [to] arrive from New York” so he could present his
letters of introduction to President Washington, reported
that he had already “experience [d] much hospitality.”
George Washington appears to have taken a liking to
his fellow farmer, Strickland, who had brought “turnip and
many other seeds from England” for Washington to ex-
periment with at Mount Vernon. Although it is unknown
Strickland’s copy of Goldsmith’s An Almanack for the Year of
Our Lord M.DCC,XCIV indicating his arrival in Philadelphia,
December 12, 1794. (Collection of the New-York Historical Society)
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 95
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II
how often their paths crossed
during Stricklands initial
three-and-a-half months in
Philadelphia, on one (undat-
ed) occasion, “General Knox
called upon Mr. Strickland
about 3 o’clock to inform
him that he should drink Tea
with the President tomor-
row Evening and particularly
wished Mr. Strickland to ac-
company him.”
Spring arrived and
Strickland prepared to continue
his tour. The President invited Strickland to visit Mt. Vernon,
and also personally wrote seven letters of introduction on
his behalf to, among others: the Governors of Maryland and
Virginia, Revolutionary hero. General Henry “Light-Horse
Harry” Lee, and Thomas Jefferson, then in retirement from
government at MonticeUo. Washington asked his former
secretary of state to extend his “civilities and attention” as Mr.
Strickland’s “merits, independent of the recommendation of
Sir Jno. Sinclair, wdl entitle him to them.”
On April 4, 1795, “w. drifts of snow lying in the road
sides,” Strickland headed south. He arrived at Mount
Vernon on April 16, where he made drawings of the
house and the view from its portico, and noted “much
thunder and lightning most of the night.” By May 14,
Strickland was at MonticeUo, where Thomas Jefferson
made him welcome.
The two men, both polymaths, discussed a wide range
of common interests, from plow mould boards (a subject
on which Jefferson also consulted with David Ritten-
house [the first Director of the Mint]), to agriculture,
to the introduction of the turkey to England. The men
parted and maintained a cordial correspondence on all
manner of subjects, even after Jefferson returned to public
life both as vice president and president.
Invitation from Gen. Henry Knox to Strickland inviting him to tea with
President George Washington (undated, circa December 1 794 - March 1 195.
(Gollection of the New-York Historical Society)
His southern tour over,
Strickland headed back to
Philadelphia for a week
before briefly returning
to New York where he
closed his account with the
Bank of New York on July
8^^, taking “Cash for the
balance” in the amount of
$196.45. Strickland’s final
stop was again Philadelphia,
where he spent his last
week and a half in the
United States.
On July 15, Washington sent Strickland a letter asking
him to carry correspondence on his behalf to Sir John
Sinclair; he ended his note by adding: “I sincerely wish you
a safe & pleasant passage; & a happy meeting with your
family & friends in England.”
William Strickland “Embarked [in Philadelphia]
onboard the Camilla [,] Captain Irwin for Falmouth” on
July 29, 1795, and he arrived in England after “a short,
but rough and consequently not agreeable passage” on
September V\
In the years to come, in addition to Washington (who
wrote him a particularly lengthy letter on July 15, 1797
from “under my own vine and Fig tree” closing that
“Mrs Washington feels the obligation of your polite
remembrance of her”) and Jefferson, Strickland kept in
touch with a number of his new friends in America. His
extant letter book includes missives to Robert Livingston,
John Murray, William Seton, Caleb Lownes, (a merchant
in Philadelphia who supplied “Bar Iron & Moulds” to
the Philadelphia Mint in 1793 and 1795, and was the
first administrator of the Walnut Street Prison), and
fellow Englishman John Guillemard (in Philadelphia).
To Guillemard, on February 9, 1800, following the
news of George Washington’s death, Strickland wrote
a revealing letter that conveys a sense of the mutual
esteem Washington and he appear to have had for one
another:
‘Your letter of the 4^^ Novr. contained a paragraph with
which I could not but be flatter’d in finding myself remember’d
with respect at Mount- Vernon; alas! I had scarcely receiv’d
your letter before an account arriv’d of the death of him
by whom I was so much honour’d for I must ever hold it
the highest honour of my life to have been thought well of
by him whom the world allows to have passed and long &
arduous life without having committed a fault.”
Pencil sketch of ‘Mount Vernon from the N.E. ”
by William Strickland, April 1795.
(Collection of the New-York Historical Society)
96 STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Silver Dollars
The Strickland- Winn-St. Oswald Collections
Thirteen years after William Strickland’s return to
England, his father, the 5^^ Baronet of Boynton, died
and he ascended to the title. As previously noted, he
inherited his father’s varied collections including coins
and a library that contained a significant group of works
on numismatics and enlarged both. He acquired coins
from the tenth century Bossall/Flaxton hoard, which was
found on his brother-in-law’s property, and in 1809, he
gave a Samanid dirham from the find to the renowned
numismatist William Marsden; other coins from the hoard
were published in the British Journal of Numismatics in
1960-61, and sold in the Christie’s sale in 1964.
In 1819, another coin collector, Charles Winn of
Nostell, became Strickland’s son-in-law. The two men not
only had shared interests but a common ancestor as well.
Sir Rowland Winn, 5^^ Baronet of Nostell was Sir William
Strickland’s uncle, and Charles Winn’s grandfather.
Charles Winn, a voracious collector (a ''coUectionneur
enrage'') in many fields, was a most unlikely inheritor
of the renowned country house, Nostell Priory (which
was partly designed by Robert Adam and contains about
100 works commissioned directly from the great cabinet
maker Thomas Chippendale, including a coin cabinet
[1767] from which the coins were removed for auction in
1964). Winn’s mother had caused a scandal by marrying a
baker, by whom she had three children. Upon her death,
the children became the wards of their uncle, the 6^^
Baronet of Nostell who died childless two years later. The
children changed their name to Winn and the eldest, John,
succeeded to Nostell (but not the title); upon his untimely
death in 1817, his younger brother Charles (who served as
the Rector ofWragby) inherited Nostell Priory.
When William Strickland died in 1834, his coin
collection (some of whose coins were accompanied by
his own “very instructive” remarks) and portions of his
library, notably the numismatic books, were acquired, at
least in part by purchase (a balance paid of £166-10-0 was
recorded in July 1836) by his son-in-law, Charles Winn,
father of the T^ Baron St. Oswald of Nostell Priory.
The William Strickland- Nostell Priory - Lord
St. Oswald United States Coin Collection
Two groups of United States coins from Nostell Priory
were sold at Christie’s. The first portion sold in 1964 is
justifiably the most renowned, but the overall importance
of the collection does not fully come into focus until it
is combined with the second parcel, sold in 1992 (and
today barely known), the newly suggested provenance,
and knowledge ofWilliam Strickland’s visit to the United
States in 1794-1795.
The combined collection of some 84 coins, of which
most of the 34 1794-1795 federal issues were essentially as
made (there was also a single 1793 circulated Chain cent),
provides an excellent cross section of the kind of American
coins that would have been circulating (and available fresh
William Strickland, Observations on the Agriculture of the United States, London, 1801; title page and exchange rates
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 97
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II
Win N -S'l' K IC KLAND'S r. OSWAL U
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r Sl ChwikJ o4Ntttfcll
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l>-rri. kiin-ald AlldHKkf- ^'biII
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from the Mint) during William Strickland’s tour. Of the
49 pre-federal issues, there are examples from every state
through which Strickland passed with the exception of
Maryland. They are for the most part worn, and whether
they were accumulated as pocket change or consciously
collected is a matter of debate; probably it was a little of
both, as the fairly broad diversity of type indicates the
acquisition by someone with the practiced eye of a coin
collector, as Strickland is known to have been.
A close examination of the 1794-1795 Philadelphia
Mint issues is even more revealing. The St. Oswald
Collection only contained varieties or denominations
that would have been available to William Strickland
during his time in America between September 20, 1794,
andjuly 29, 1795.
The majority of the coins in effectively “new”
condition were produced after October 15, 1794 and
nearly half the collection’s 24 1794 large cents were
from deliveries made while Strickland is known to
have been in Philadelphia in
December 1794.
Bearing in mind that Strickland
set sail for England on July 29, 1795,
of particular interest is what 1795
coins the St. Oswald collection
lacked: there were no examples of
half eagles (first delivered July 31,
1795); no eagles (first delivered
September 22, 1795); no Draped
Bust dollars (first believed to
have been produced around the
beginning of October 1795); nor
half cents or cents (which were not
produced until the last two months
of the year). The absence of 1795
half dimes, which theoretically he
could have obtained is inexplicable,
but for the majority of types and
denominations produced in 1795
the St. Oswald collection is notably
missing all the 1795-dated coins
which were produced afterWSlmm
Strickland had left for home.
Conclusion:
That such an astonishing group
of American coins produced at the
Philadelphia Mint in 1794-1795,
in near perfect condition, survived
in the collection of a single family
for over a century-and-a-half is,
on its own, remarkable. But even more astonishing is that
there is now demonstrable evidence that identifies which
of their ancestors (a coin collector) toured the United
States of America and was in Philadelphia in 1794-1795.
The importance of the 1794-1795 coins from the
William Strickland-Charles Winn-Lord St. Oswald-
Nostell Priory Collection cannot be understated. They
were originally acquired in the year of issue, not merely
by some casual tourist, but by a truly remarkable man:
a vitally interested amateur, a numismatist no less, who
traveled in the august company of some of our nation’s
Founding Fathers, including a number who were
integral to the birth of the United States Mint. The
original “Lord St. Oswald” theory, once discarded, may
now be said to have been not so wide of the mark, and
that with William Strickland as the original acquisitor,
the provenance is even richer and more important than
previously imagined.
It was, very much, a family affair.
98 STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Silver Dollars
Reconstructed Collection of United States Colonial, Post-Colonial,
and Federal Coins removed from Nostell Priory
(Sold Christie’s 1964 & 1992)
Massachusetts:
1662 Oak Tree Twopence (1992)
1652 Oak Tree Sixpence (1964)
1652 Pine Tree Shilling, Large (1964)
1652 Pine Tree Shillings, Small [2] (1964)
New Jersey:
St. Patrick Farthings [3] (1992)
St. Patrick Halfpenny (1992)
American Plantation:
ND 1/24 Part Real (1992)
Rosa Americana:
ND Twopence (1964)
1723 Twopence (1964)
Woods Hibernia:
1723 Halfpennies [4] (1992)
1723 Farthing (1992)
Virginia:
1773 Halfpenny (1992)
Elephant Token:
ND Halfpenny (1992)
Hibernia-Voce Populi:
1760 Halfpennies [5] (1992)
Nova Constellatio:
1783 Pointed Rays (1992)
1785 Pointed Rays (1992)
Massachusetts:
1787 Cent (1992)
1788 Cents [2] (1992)
Connecticut:
1785 Bust Right (1992)
1787 Bust Left [7] (1992)
1788 Bust Right (1992)
New York:
1787 NovaEborac (1992)
New Jersey:
1786 (1992)
1787 [4] (1992)
Worn (1992)
Vermont:
1787 Bust Right (1992)
Talbot, Allum & Lee
1794 Cent, New York (1964)
Washington Pieces:
1791 Cent, Small Eagle (1964)
1795 Liberty & Security Penny
Asylum Edge (1992)
Federal:
1794 Half Cents [2] (1992)
1793 Cham Cent AMERICA (1992)
1794 Cents [24] (1964[22]; 1992 [2])
1795 Half Dollars [3] (1964)
1794 Silver Dollars [2] (1964)
1795 Silver Dollars Flowing Hair [3] (1964)
Note: The above note is an abbreviated version of a forthcoming
article.
Acknowledgments :
The author would like to acknowledge with profound thanks the
assistance, guidance, suggestions, and reminiscences of Sarah Acton &
Sam Bartle (East Riding Archive); Deborah Coy (Christie’s); Matthew
Di Biase (National Archives and Records Administration) ; Tom Eden
(Morton & Eden); Richard Falkiner (formerly of Christie’s); Adrian
Green (Durham University); David Hill (American Numismatic
Society) ; Edward Potten (Joint Head of Special Collections, Cambridge
University Library); Michael Ryan, Edward O’ Reilly, Tammy Kiter
(New- York Historical Society); Robert Scott; Eric Streiner; David
Sundman;Nicola Thwaite (National Trust) .
Select Bibliography:
Bowers, Q. David, Silver Dollars and Trade Dollars of the United States:
A Complete Encyclopedia, 1993 .
Breen, Walter, Walter Breen’s Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial
Proof Coins, 1977.
Breen, Walter, Walter Breen’s Complete Encyclopedia of US. and
Colonial Coins, 1988.
Breen, Walter, Walter Breen’s Encyclopedia of United States Earge Cents,
in collaboration with Del Bland, Edited by Mark Borckardt, 2000
Brockwell, M.W, Catalogue of the Pictures and other Works of Art in the
Collection ofEord St. Oswald at Nostell Priory, 1915.
Christie, Manson & Woods Ltd, Catalogue of English, Foreign and
Important American Coins: The Property of Major the Ford St. Oswald,
removed from Nostell Priory, Wakefield, Yorkshire, October 13, 1964.
Christie, Manson & Woods Ltd, Coins and Medals, 14 April 1981.
Christie, Manson & Woods Ltd, Coins and Medals, 18 February
1992.
Fitzpatrick, J.C., Writings of George Washington from the Original
Manuscript Sources, vol 34, 1940.
Hodder, M., “Who Was Major the Lord St. Oswald?”, The Asylum,
vol. xii, no. 4, 1994, pp. 3-7.
New- York Historical Society, Sir William Strickland Papers (1793-
1827).
Potten, E., The Cultivated Eye: Books and Reading at Nostell Priory,
2007.
Potten, E., “Beyond Bibliophilia: Contextualizing Private Libraries
in the Nineteenth Century,” Eibrary and Information History, Yol 31, No.
2, May 2015, pp. 73-94.
Raikes, S., ‘“A cultivated eye for the antique”: Charles Winn and
the Enrichment of Nostell Priory in the Nineteenth Century,’ Apollo,
2003 (reproduced online at www.freelibrary.com).
Strickland, W , Observations on the Agriculture of the United States of
America, 1801; re-printed as part of the N-YHS edition of Stickland’s
fournal.
Strickland, W, Journal of a Tour in the United States of
America-17 94-17 95, ed. Rev.J.E. Strickland, 1971.
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 99
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Silver Dollars
The Legendary Gem Lord St. Oswald 1794 Silver Dollar
A World Famous Specimen of the First American Dollar
Intact Provenance to 1794
Lot 2041. 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar. Bowers Borckardt-1, Bolender-1. Rarity-4. Mint
State-66+ (PCGS).
'‘Best strike. Gem.’' — Jacque C. (Mrs. Alfred) Ostheimer, 1964
Rare coins like those found in the D. Brent Pogue Collection
wear their laurel as “masterpieces” comfortably, representing
the finest surviving examples of early American coining art
and historic relics of the earliest days of the Republic. Amidst
these beautiful and varied trees, a forest can be overlooked:
the coins of the earliest years of the United States Mint are
manifest evidence of the first toddler-steps forward of an
independent American economy that, within a century and
a half, would dominate the world’s commerce. Each half dime
and half dollar of the 1790s was a stumbling fawn, a mustard
seed, the beginning of a system that would grow by proportions
unimaginable to the men who conceived and coined these
pieces of copper, silver, and gold that we now hold so dear. The
jewel in the crown of early American coinage, and the one
whose worldwide historical importance is so evident that one
needs not be a collector nor a historian to appreciate it, is the
first American dollar. The position of hegemony the American
dollar holds worldwide is unrivaled, its primacy among
world currencies unquestioned. Not since Rome’s denarius
was the coin of the realm from Hadrian’s Wall to the Indian
Subcontinent has a single medium of exchange been so vitally
important. What could better symbolize the infancy of one of
the most important currencies the world has ever known than
an extraordinary survivor from the year of its birth?
The first American dollars were struck in 1794, amateurishly,
likely over the course of a single day, and in a quantity that
would barely fill a valise. A handful survive in high grades. Most
survivors are well worn, their significance as anything more
than an article of commerce not apparent for decades after their
production. Many more have been damaged through accident,
from their days when they were simply a coin worth a dollar,
or through intentional attempted improvement, from the many
decades since a premium was placed on their value. Few among
them have managed to avoid all manner of destructive activity.
and fewer still have survived unworn. The two examples that
survived in such miraculous condition in the cabinet of the
Winn family have captured imaginations since their rediscovery
in 1964. This coin, the finer of the two, ranks as one of the very
best examples extant of the first American dollar.
Freshness defines the surfaces of this specimen, fully lustrous
with lively cartwheel on both obverse and reverse, beneath subtle
golden toning derived from the decades it went untouched,
a bit speckled on the obverse, more consistent olive-gold on
the reverse side that remained in contact with the Winn’s
Chippendale cabinet for so many lifetimes. Its brilliance gives
the appearance of a newly discovered treasure. The portrait of
Liberty, boldly looking upward and outward, is precisely struck,
unusual for a 1794 dollar, with her hair finely detailed, her
profile sharply rendered, the fine contours of her eyes, lips, and
hairline all as well defined as if chiseled from marble. The first
three stars, so rarely complete because of axial misalignment
of the two die faces, are full here, an aspect that would make
this example important even if well worn. The other stars are
likewise fully outlined, though flat, as they are on the much
celebrated Amon Carter-Cardinal specimen that our firm sold
for a world record price in excess of $10 million. Opposite
these first few stars, the tops of the letters in STATES are a bit
soft, but aside from some trivial weakness at the rim in a few
areas, all other design elements are fully rendered and complete,
giving this specimen an unusually sculptural appearance for an
example of this date.
The planchet is well made, but still shows the inexpert state
of U.S. Mint technology in this first year of precious metal
coinage. Adjustment marks are endemic to these first American
dollars, as so much rode upon each specimen meeting precise
demands of weight and fineness, but this example is blessedly
free of them, showing just a few short lines near the rim
below stars 1 and 2. Like the Carter-Cardinal 1794 dollar, this
specimen shows a central plug of silver, placed in the planchet
before striking in an effort to create a coin of the precise
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 101
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II
statutory weight, the opposite force in
the give-and-take process that sometimes
necessitated adjustment marks. While the
Carter-Cardinal coin has been published
as the only 1794 dollar with a silver
plug, the plug on this piece is quite plain
on the reverse, an uneven oval nearly
centered on the centering dot, extending
along the arc contour of the wing at
right, into the field above the centering
dot, and below along the furrow that
divides the eagle’s breast from the wing
at right. The plug is not easily visible
from the obverse, obscured in the deepest
relief of Liberty’s cheek. Also found on
1795 dollars and half dollars, plugs were
first used in America in the colonial era,
when well-known goldsmiths brought
the weight of circulating foreign gold
coins up to a minimum legal standard in a process that today is
known as “regulating.” This planchet shows a few other minor
pre-striking imperfections, including a light striation below the
two leaf cluster under F of OF, a natural pit at the upper left
corner of E of AMERICA, and a flat spot on the rim above
ICA where the planchet was “clipped” or incomplete before
striking, but was able to approximate rounded completeness
once the force of the dies pressed the metal flow outward to
fill the periphery. Other tiny planchet gaps are seen at the tips
of the denticles above O of OF, right of the right ribbon end,
among the denticles above TY of LIBERTY, and at the ends of
the denticles between 4 of the date and star 15.
The eye appeal, as suggested by the grade, is exceptional,
with originality of appearance that few specimens of any
grade level could approach. Some light hairlines and extremely
shallow abrasions are seen in the lower left obverse field, near
the tips of Liberty’s tresses. A jogging nick descends diagonally
through Liberty’s hair behind her ear, and a few marks that
appear to have preexisted striking were not fully obliterated
in the low spot below the obverse centering dots. A few other
marks of little consequence are seen only under magnification
and even then are not notable.
Struck from the clashed state of the dies, as are nearly all
1794 dollars, with the impression left from one wing prominent
from Liberty’s throat into the field before her chin, the other
wing’s clash more shallow in the left obverse field. On the
reverse, a single bold clash mark of Liberty’s lips and chin are
easily seen beneath the wing at right, with much of the rest of
the retrograde obverse design seen around it proportionally. The
sharp raised lapping line up from Liberty’s lips on the obverse is
seen on even the earliest states of the dies. No other lapping or
file lines are visible, defining this as die state II, a state earlier than
the more frequently seen state that shows evidence of additional
lapping, which removed the clash marks and truncated some
details in the lower curls of Liberty’s hair in the process. Those
curls are intact and sharp on this specimen.
David Rittenhouse and
His 1794 Dollars
David Rittenhouse, a renowned man
of science who served as the first director
of the Mint, is usually depicted as reserved.
His friend Thomas Jefferson praised
his “genius, science, modesty, purity of
morals, [and] simplicity of manners”
when it came time to follow him as
president of the American Philosophical
Society. As true as all these compliments
might have been, Rittenhouse was also
a fairly savvy political operator, and he
clearly sought to make a splash when
the Mint began striking its first coins
from precious metals. Entrusted with
sole control over the United States Mint
by George Washington, with the surety
bonds posted for the chief coiner and
assayer after much delay (and an Act of Congress to reduce
them, passed on March 3, 1794), he could have started precious
metal coinage production with diminutive half dimes, echoing
the “small beginnings” of a national coinage began at another
facility in 1792. Dimes, quarters, or half dollars would have been
better suited for the somewhat undersized press he had at hand
on October 15, 1794. Rittenhouse instead made a conscious
decision that the first specie struck at the United States Mint
would be dollars, the basic unit of our national currency and
the largest coins struck in the United States in the 18th century.
The first deposit of silver to arrive at the United States Mint
came from the Bank of Maryland on July 18, 1794. Composed
of French coins, Assayer Albion Cox’s tests of the metal’s fineness
averaged just .737 fine, meaning the deposit would have to be
heavily refined to bring it up to the congressionally mandated
.8924 standard. With the refining department understaffed,
Rittenhouse made a bold choice: rather than follow the letter
of the law, whereby depositors receive their finished coins based
upon the order of their initial deposits, Rittenhouse himself
jumped the line. On August 29, 1794, he made two deposits,
composed of silver ingots of relatively fine purity (.900 and
.8665 fine). They added up to $2001.33 worth of silver, or
enough to strike almost exactly 2,000 silver dollars.
On October 15, 1794, Chief Coiner Ldenry Voigt delivered
1,758 dollar coins to David Rittenhouse, representing the
entire mintage for the year 1794. The Mint’s workmen could
have struck the entire mintage in an afternoon, using a press
ill-suited for the rigors of striking the large diameter dies.
Rittenhouse later received $242.50 in half dollars, plus six half
dimes, to complete the total initial deposit, but numismatists
have wondered for years: was the original mintage of 1794
dollars a nice round 2,000? At least one poorly struck 1794
dollar became the planchet for a 1795 dollar. Since that coin’s
discovery in the early 1960s, no others have been found. If more
dollars were coined, they were likely so poorly struck that no
fate beyond the melting pot awaited them. Of course, they may
David Rittenhouse
(Charles Willson Peak, 1796)
102 STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Silver Dollars
During his visit to the United States, Strickland visited (left to right)
NeivYork City, Mount Vernon, and Philadelphia.
never have been struck at all, and a failure of the press could
have ended the day s work prematurely Despite the enormity of
the event, no details were recorded, and no ceremony was held.
Few comments on the new dollars were made at the
time. In the December 1862 issue of The Historical Magazine,
correspondent (and pioneering numismatist) Jeremiah Colburn
submitted a paragraph he discovered in the New Hampshire
Gazette, published in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on
December 2, 1794, noting, “collectors of American coins are
aware of the rarity, and the difficulty experienced, in obtaining
fine specimens of this date.” It read:
Some of the Dollars now coining at the mint of the United
States have found their way to this town. A correspondent put
one into the Editor’s hands yesterday. Its weight is equal to that
of a Spanish dollar, but the metal appears finer. One side bears
a head, with flowing tresses, encircled by fifteen stars, and has
the word ‘liberty’ at the top, and the date, 1794, at the bottom.
On the reverse is the bald eagle, enclosed in an olive branch,
round which are the words ‘United States of America.’ The
edge is well indented, in which are the words ‘One Dollar, or
Unit, Hundred Cents .’The tout ensemble has a pleasing effect
to a connoisseur; but the touches of the graver are too delicate,
and there is a want of that boldness of execution which is
necessary to durability and currency.
The paragraph was published again in the American Journal
of Numismatics in October, 1885 and has reappeared in various
texts into modern times, though the 1862 publication appears
to have been its first in a numismatic context.
Of the 1,758 dollars delivered on October 15, 1794, about
135 to 150 pieces are thought to survive, a high percentage based
upon most statistical survivorship models of early American
coins. This high percentage reflects the early date at
which collectors placed a premium on 1794
dollars, thus saving low grade specimens
that would have been consigned to
the melting pot if they were of
any other date. It also hints at the
significance David Rittenhouse and
his acquaintances must have placed
upon these first United States
dollars, many of whom are thought
to have saved specimens. Several survive in Mint State grades;
six show up on the PCGS Population Report graded MS -60 or
finer. Among these, the Amon Carter/Cardinal Collection coin
stands out. It is the only one graded as a “Specimen.” Though
given a numerical grade identical to this one, it is the only one
to show an intact reflective surface, and it is the only coin to
have ever sold for a price in excess of $10 million. After the
Carter/Cardinal coin, two specimens stand atop the census at
MS-66+, namely this one and the F.C.C. Boyd-Lelan Rogers
example. Jimmy Hayes has related a story, against the backdrop of
a major numismatic convention in the early 1980s, where Lelan
Rogers had his legendary type set on display. The two famous
collectors had the chance to place their two extraordinary gem
1794 dollars next to each other. Hayes preferred this coin, and
Rogers preferred his own. A third collector who knew both
men came up and offered “Lelan, that coin is nicer than yours.”
Lelan Rogers’ deadpan response — “If you say so” - brilliantly
summarizes the debate over which of these coins is finer.
The Most Famous Provenance
in American Numismatics
If provenance may be counted as a tiebreaker, there are
few that can surpass a name that is whispered with reverence
among advanced collectors: the Lord St. Oswald. That name
became associated with this dollar, and a number of other high
grade American coins dated 1794 and 1795, in 1964, when
they appeared in a London Christie’s auction as “the property
of Major the Lord St. Oswald, M.C.”The title belonged to a
48-year-old member of the House of Lords named Rowland
Denys Guy Winn, who had won a Military Cross during his
service in Korea. The coins sold with his name had descended
through his family for generations, housed in a beautiful 18th
century coin cabinet made by Thomas Chippendale himself
for the family estate, known as Nostell Priory, in
Yorkshire. The collection had been assembled
beginning in the 18th century and added to in
the 19th, though it had been left static ever
since. Nostell Priory contained a bounty
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 103
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II
of antiques, including fine art, antiquities, and more, much of
which was acquired by England’s National Trust, along with the
house itself, in 1953.
Though the name “Lord St. Oswald” is now inseparable from
the coins of NosteU Priory, the man who actually collected these
coins was named William Strickland. David Tripp has uncovered
and reanimated Strickland’s extraordinary visit to the United
States, which lasted from September 20, 1794, until July 29, 1795.
Strickland was a collector of many things, including coins, and
he appears to have gathered a sensible and organized grouping
of American coins during his 10-month visit. The coins from
the Lord St. Oswald / Strickland collection span the breadth of
the Philadelphia Mint’s production until the time of Strickland’s
departure from Philadelphia at the end of July 1795, ranging from
half cents to dollars, from a lightly worn Chain cent to perfect
gem coins struck in the weeks before his return home. Further,
the coins struck after that date, including 1795-dated gold coins.
Draped Bust issues, and more, are not present here, suggesting
that his American collection was formed entirely during his
visit and never augmented later. Lie rubbed elbows with John
Adams in Massachusetts, raised glasses with George Washington,
and talked farming with Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. Each
of those men being collectors, perhaps coins and medals came
up in conversation as well. When George Washington hosted
another foreign visitor in June 1798, the Polish poet and warrior
Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, he recalled that during his visit to
Mount Vernon, “Mrs. Washington showed me a small collection
of medals struck during the Revolution” including “one of at
least 100 ducats in gold, with the head closely resembling that of
G[enera] I. Washington.” Strickland’s interests were so diverse, he
undoubtedly found much to discuss with each of the Founders
he encountered.
After nearly 170 years stored in his family’s coin cabinet,
this dollar re-entered a world that had been utterly transformed
since it was first lovingly placed in a mahogany drawer. Perhaps
symbolic of that transformation, when this coin returned to
the United States, it did so in the possession of an American
woman, Jacque C. Ostheimer. Although her husband, Alfred J.
Ostheimer III, gets frequent credit for the acquisition of this
piece, it was his wife who travelled to London to view the lots
and returned again to bid in the sale. Mrs. Ostheimer looked at
both 1794 dollars from the Lord St. Oswald consignment and
adjudged this the superior one, noting in her catalog that it had
the “best strike.” She called it “gem.” It was acquired for a bid
of £4000 and placed into the Ostheimer Collection, one of the
finest groupings of silver dollars ever formed.
This elegant coin, whose simplicity cloaks its world-wide
historical relevance, is much more than a numismatic treasure.
It is among the first examples of a currency that would become
the most dominant the world has ever seen. The story of the
American dollar, recognized in every corner of the globe
today, starts here. As the dollar’s hegemony grew, so too would
America’s worldwide influence. When William Strickland
traveled throughout the former British colonies in 1794 and
1795, he may have had some inkling of the future. He might
have even recognized that the modest coins he acquired and
carried home would someday be cherished, but he could not
possibly have foretold just how beloved his provenance, veiled
by time, would become.
PCGS Population: 2; none finer.
Publications: Hilt, Robert P. II. Die Varieties of Early United
States Coins, 1980, p. 59. Breen, Walter. Walter BreeUs Complete
Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Coins, 1988, p. 423.
Collins, Jack and Breen, Walter. 1794: the History and Genealogy
of the First United States Dollar, 1993 (published 2008), p. 47.
Bowers, Q. David. Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United
States: A Complete Encyclopedia, 1993, p. 127 and p. 169. Hodder,
Michael. “Who Was Major The Lord St. Oswald?” The Asylum,
Fall 1994, pp. 3-7. Logies, Martin. The Flowing Hair Silver Dollars
of 1 794, 2004, pp. 44-47. Bowers, Q. David. The Encyclopedia of
United States Silver Dollars 1 794-1804, 2013, p. 60.
Provenance: William Strickland Collection; Charles Winn
(husband of Priscilla Strickland, son-in-law and cousin of William
Strickland), by sale, 1834; Rowland Winn, 1st Baron St. Oswald
of NosteU, by descent, 1874; Rowland Winn, 2nd Baron St. Oswald
of NosteU, by descent, 1893; Rowland George Winn, 3rd Baron St.
Oswald of NosteU, by descent, 1919; Rowland Denys Guy Winn,
Major the Ford St. Oswald, M. C., by descent, 1957; Christie, Manson,
and Woods, Etd.’s sale of English, Foreign, and Important American
Coins, the Property of Major the Ford St. Oswald, M.C., October
1964, lot 138; Jacque C. (Mrs. Alfred) Ostheimer Collection; Jacque
C. (Mrs. Alfred) Ostheimer to Superior Stamp and Coin Company, by
sale, September 29, 1969; Edwards Huntington Metcalf Collection;
Superior Stamp and Coin Company’s Clarke E. Gilhousen sale.
Part III, October 1973, lot 1209; Jonathon Hefferlin; Bowers and
Ruddy’s sale of the Newport Collection, January 1975, lot 371; Julian
Eeidman to Michael Kirzner to Bowers and Ruddy Galleries to Phil
Herres (DollarTowne); Eeon Hendrickson (SilverTowne), by sale, via
John Dannreuther, January 1983; Jimmy Hayes Collection; Stack’s
sale of the Jimmy Hayes Collection of United States Silver Coins,
October 1985, lot 72, via David Akers.
Est. $3,000,000-$5,000,000
104 STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Silver Dollars
The Year 1794 in History
The Whiskey Rebellion took place in western Pennsylvania when farmers on what was then the
American frontier objected to a federal tax on whiskey At the time, liquor was a medium of exchange and
a store of value, as corn distilled into whiskey could be shipped more economically to eastern markets and
was more easily stored and traded than grain.Tax collectors were tarred and feathered — or worse. President
George Washington ordered the federal militia to stop such acts,
which he called treasonous. Some Rebellion leaders were taken
to Philadelphia (then capital of the United States) and tried.
Two were convicted but were pardoned by the President. The
Whiskey Rebellion was the first test of government power to
enforce laws enacted by Congress.
On March 22, 1794, Congress forbade the states to engage
in the slave trade with foreign nations. Nevertheless, the law
was widely ignored, and slavers, as they were called, continued
to bring their ships from Africa to ports in the southern
United States. In 1794, France declared that all slaves within
its borders were free, the first country in the world to do so.
The Battle of Fallen Timbers, August 20, 1794, was won by
the government ending attacks on American settlers by Indians in the Kentucky and Ohio districts.
Indians had been encouraged by the British to attack white settlers.
Jay’s Treaty was signed on November 19, 1794, settling certain outstanding, unresolved disputes
between the United States and Great Britain, but certain terms — including the provision that the
British could search American vessels and take as prisoners any seamen of British citizenship — were
met with disfavor in the United States. The Insurance Company of North America, chartered from
Philadelphia, became the first United States firm to offer life insurance policies.
The Lancaster Road, financed by a $465,000 stock issue, opened to link Lancaster with Philadelphia
and the Delaware River.The dirt thoroughfare, 62 miles in length, was a great success and paid dividends
as high as 15% in some years. This set the tone for other toll road projects, including the Cumberland
Road in 1811. In an era before canals and railroads, toll roads provided the
main links between cities. Transportation was by horse and carriage. Few
Americans traveled far from home. Eastern cities, mainly located on the
Atlantic coast or on large inland tributaries, were connected by sailing ship
routes which facilitated trade.
Peale’s Museum was opened in Philadelphia by portrait artist Charles
Willson Peale in January 1794. For the sum of one dollar, a patron could gain
admission for the year.The first to subscribe was President George Washington,
who bought four tickets. Exhibits in this, the first notable popular museum in
America, pertained to natural history, art, and science.
Bowdoin College was founded in Maine in 1794; it would go on to have
such illustrious instructors as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Harriet
Beecher Stowe and to be recognized as a premier institution of higher
learning. John Trumbull, American artist, produced his heroic-sized painting.
The Declaration of Independence, which would become famous (and which
in 1976 would be used on the reverse of the $2 biU).The first section of
Thomas Paine’s The Age of Reason was published in Paris, and solidified public
opinion about Paine into two starkly opposing camps: staunch supporters, and vehement opponents.
1794 was, after all, the beginning of the Reign of Terror in France.
Charles Willson Peale in his museum.
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 105
1795 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar. Bowers Borckardt-18, Bolender-7. Rarity-3. Three Leaves,
Mint State-66 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Silver Dollars
The Spectacular Catherine Bullowa 1795 Flowing Hair Dollar
A Celebrated Specimen
Lot 2042. 1795 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar. Bowers Borckardt-18, Bolender-7. Rarity-3. Three
Leaves. Mint State-66 (PCGS).
coins . . . spoke to me, and in some cases, sang to me. ”
— Catherine Bullowa
This is perhaps the most legendary and most discussed 1795
Flowing Hair dollar extant, a coin that received celebratory
commentary from numismatic insiders and realized a miUion-
doUar price at a small Philadelphia auction. Considered a
special or specimen strike by many cognoscenti, this dollar
has been considered something of a companion coin to the
Garrett-Pogue 1795 Draped Bust dollar, graded Specimen-66
by PCGS, the only 1795 dollar of any type to be certified as
a Specimen by PCGS. This coin displays fully detailed devices
standing out from reflective surfaces in bold contrast, fields
spectacularly bathed in violaceous and chalybeous toning,
framed with pale champagne gold around peripheral elements.
From boldly delineated denticles to bold central devices, all
major details stand out in relief, including each individual star
center. On the reverse, the eagle’s feathers are crisp, showing
each shaft and curve, and his head likewise shows details of the
eye and beak that are rarely found so well struck. His breast
is a bit soft, showing traces of light adjustment marks in the
region. Light vestiges of adjustment marks are seen above much
of the reverse legend, affecting neither lettering nor denticles
in a measurable way, yielding to very square and firmly struck
rims. No significant adjustment marks are seen on the obverse.
Both sides are free from major contact marks, with just a couple
of minor contact points in the central right obverse field and
lower left obverse field, and only trivial hairlines under well-lit
magnified scrutiny. With its deep, rich toning, subtly blended
from rim to centers, this dollar presents exquisite visual appeal
along with unparalleled technical excellence. The die state is
typical, before lapping removed a tiny extraneous piece from
right of the left ribbon end on the reverse.
Coins like this, clearly struck so carefully, upon planchets
whose reflectivity suggests special pre-striking preparation, have
long been accorded particular respect and premium values.
Aside from being the finest known 1795 Flowing Hair dollar,
many connoisseurs consider this a specimen strike, a “master
coin” produced with much the same intent and preparation
as Proof coins of a later era. There is no set of standards for
such determinations, nor is there a single arbiter, but when this
specimen was sold in 2005, most experienced numismatists left
lot viewing astonished and in near-uniform agreement that this
coin was something truly special.
It was sold in a little publicized sale held in Center City
Philadelphia in 2005 by the estimable Catherine Bullowa, then
85 years old and in her 52nd year in the coin business. The last
56 lots were headlined “these are some of my favorite things,”
described as “the ones that spoke to me, and in some cases,
sang to me.” Mrs. Bullowa had “been the loving keeper of these
pieces for some 50 to 60 years,” she recalled in a 2013 interview,
adding that this dollar had been acquired from a collector in
1965 as part of a larger cabinet. Selling the remainder of the
collection over time, she never parted with this dollar until the
now-legendary 2005 auction. Recalling the moment it sold
for a seven-figure sum, Mrs. Bullowa said “I was ready to faint.
I didn’t even know how to write a million! But Ron Guth
was the auctioneer and he helped me.” The catalog was written
by her friend Anthony Ter ranova, a renowned New York City
dealer, who described this coin’s “prooflike surfaces with deep
mirror effect” and called it “very similar to Amon Carter’s 1794
dollar,” the Specimen-66 (PCGS) Cardinal Collection example
that holds the record for most valuable coin ever sold.
This coin was the highlight of an auction that recalled the
Philadelphia auctions of a century ago, an event that is still
talked about by the numismatists who were present. Since that
time, no 1795 dollar has ever been graded higher than MS-65+,
leaving this, alone, atop the PCGS Population Report. David
Hall has singled it out on the PCGS CoinFacts site as “the finest
known example,” an opinion that will provoke no disagreement
from those who have had the opportunity to hold it in-hand.
PCGS Population: 1 , none finer.
Publications: Bowers, Q. David. The Encyclopedia of United
States Silver Dollars 1 794-1804, 2013, p. 89.
Provenance: Catherine Bullowa Collection, by purchase, 1965;
Catherine Bullowa’s (Coinhunter) sale of December 2005, lot 393.
Est. $600,000-$800,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 107
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Silver Dollars
The Finest 1795 Silver Plug Dollar Extant
The Lord St. Oswald Specimen
Lot 2043. 1795 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar. Bowers Borckardt-18, Bolender-7. Rarity-3. Three
Leaves. Silver Plug. Mint State-65 + (PCGS).
^^Mr. Strickland has not been idle since he came to this country. . . .
Nothing, I believe, has escaped his observation that merited notice. ”
— George Washington to Sir John Sinclair, July 10, 1795
A coin of great native beauty, like a tropical island or a
mountain glen, natural and unsophisticated, showing no
evidence of trespass from humans for centuries. The story of
this coin’s provenance, long the stuff of legend, has now been
brought into the realm of the factual by David Tripp, lending
even greater meaning and romance to the Lord St. Oswald
name. This coin, when acquired by William Strickland, was
brand new. It remains so 225 years later. Its luster shows a
variety of looks: reflective at the obverse periphery, satiny and
a bit subdued at the central obverse, bold and bright across the
reverse with both prooflike reflectivity and thorough frosty
cartwheel. The obverse and reverse appear quite different,
natural when the observer considers that this coin rested in a
cabinet for a century and a half, rarely touched, never imposed
upon. Deep gold toning, thick and beautiful, gathers around
the obverse devices, a contrast with the deep pewter fields and
the lighter silver brilliance that serves to divide deep gray from
gold. Under a glass the golden toning appears natural, even
primitive, including the area of light speckling in the central
right field. The reverse exhibits an entirely different look, more
subtly toned in brilliant silver and light gray, enhanced by
familiar pastel blue and violet in the fields and close-cropped
outlines of gold around design elements. The strike is superb
on both sides. The obverse portrait must have been as satisfying
to the coiner as it is today for the collector, detailed and well-
realized. The stars each show their centers, though a few show
traces of adjustment lines that truncate their highest relief.
Adjustment marks are also present high in Liberty’s hair, upon
her forehead, around much of the perimeter, and on her chin.
Two particularly long parallel adjustment marks run from the
rim outside star 10 to the field above Liberty’s forehead. The
reverse is also very boldly struck up, showing only the merest
flat spot on the eagle’s breast and some weakness on the eagle’s
talons, while other design elements are as complete as can be.
A tiny curved lint mark is seen at the base of the reverse, a bit
closer to the right ribbon end than the left. A short scratch is
noted outside the right ribbon end. The obverse shows some
subtle hairlines, while the frosty reverse is completely free of
them. A few minor marks, including a tiny contact point above
the eagle’s head, amount to nothing individually or taken as a
whole. Struck from a crisp early state of the dies, this coin shows
a wealth of fresh detail. Both of the tiny flaws at the end of the
left ribbon end, hallmarks of this die state, are still present.
The adjustment marks on this piece tell only half the story
of this planchet’s preparation, which could serve as a summary
of the story of precious metal planchet production during the
first 12 months that the U.S. Mint was striking coins from
compositions more noble than copper. Underweight when
made, this planchet was fitted with a plug of silver to bring
it up to proper weight. Though barely visible on the obverse
even when carefully studied, located astride two tresses behind
Liberty’s ear, the plug is much broader on the reverse. What was
once a small mound has become, from the impact of striking,
a substantial circle, centered at the juncture of the eagle’s body
and wing at right, distinctive in form and easy to see. Its darker
violet color seems to suggest that the silver fineness of the plug
is different from that of the rest of the planchet. Tests cited in
Kenneth Bressett’s paper for the 1993 Coinage of the Americas
Conference “showed that both the plug and the coin were made
of the same alloy” in most cases, though “with one specimen,
the plug was of higher fineness; a second specimen contained a
plug of lower fineness.”
Among all 1795 dollars certified by PCGS, only one specimen
has ever been graded finer: the coin in the previous lot. This
is the finest 1795 Silver Plug dollar known. Plated in Walter
Breen’s Complete Encyclopedia and Encyclopedia of United States
and Colonial Proof Coins, Breen called this coin a presentation
piece based upon the speculation that Major the Lord St. Oswald
was a VIP who received this coin “on the occasion of his visit
to the Philadelphia Mint about October 1795.” The truth of
the Lord St. Oswald provenance involves a different but equally
captivating narrative: that of William Strickland, an English
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 109
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II
polymath and collector typical of so many of his brethren
during the Enlightenment, who acquired fine specimens of
then-current coins to place in his cabinet upon his return
home. Strickland certainly could have visited the Philadelphia
Mint. He arrived in Philadelphia a few weeks before the
end of 1794. “By December 22,” David Tripp has discovered,
“Strickland had already ‘once attended’ a debate in Congress,”
held at Congress Hall at 6th and Chestnut. Philadelphia, capital
of the United States until 1800, was a populous but compact
city in the late 18th century. Congress Hall was just three blocks
away from the Mint’s home at 7th and Filbert streets. Having
already made the acquaintance of William Seton, a powerful
New York banker who was an intimate of Alexander Hamilton,
and bearing letters of introduction to President Washington,
Strickland was well-connected. With relationships to people at
the highest echelons of power and nothing to do but sightsee in
Philadelphia between December 1794 and April 1795, a visit to
the Mint crosses the threshold from possible to likely, though it
remains entirely speculative.
While the main purpose of Strickland’s trip to America was
to examine the country’s landscape and agriculture, he spent
his ten months in the United States visiting sites of industrial,
historical, and commercial interest, spoke to all manner of
people, painted, wrote, and explored. Strickland recorded in his
journal that, while in Philadelphia, he planned to “add to his
collection” of seeds to take back to his experimental farm in
Yorkshire, for which he departed at the end of July 1795. As
we know, seeds were not the only thing he collected during
his visit. He left for home from Philadelphia, having spent most
of the first week of July and another week and a half prior to
his departure in the City of Brotherly Love. While in town,
deliveries of over 20,000 dollars are recorded in the logs of
the Philadelphia Mint. Between May 6, when the first 1795
dollars were struck, and his embarcation on July 29, a total of
99,030 silver dollars were coined. By the time July 1795 ended,
this coin was already a collectible. When the calendar turned to
August, it was already aboard the Camilla on the first leg of a
journey whose return leg would not be scheduled until 1964.
The Jack Collins and Walter Breen book on 1794 dollars
mentioned that the Lord St. Oswald 1794 dollar was last seen
“at the bourse table of RARCOA/Ed Milas, Jr. during the 1987
ANA Convention in Atlanta.” That reference appears to be a
mis-recollection of this coin, dated 1795, which was on display
at the RARCOA booth at the 1987 ANA Convention. The
Lord St. Oswald 1794 dollar had already been off the market in
the D. Brent Pogue Collection for two years at that time.
PCGS Population: 1, none finer. (Silver Plug) This is not
only the finest Silver Plug certified by PCGS, but has received
the second highest grade ever assigned to any 1795 dollar.
Publications: Breen, Walter. Walter Breen’s Complete
Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Coins, 1988, p. 424.
Plated on page 424. Breen, Walter. Walter Breen’s Encyclopedia of
United States and Colonial Proof Coins 1722-1989, 1989, pp. 32-
33. Plated on page 32. Bowers, Q. David. Silver Dollars & Trade
Dollars of the United States: A Complete Encyclopedia, 1993, p. 204.
Hodder, Michael. “Who Was Major The Lord St. Oswald?” The
Asylum, Fall 1994, pp. 3-4. Bowers, Q. David. The Encyclopedia of
United States Silver Dollars 1 794-1804, 2013, pp. 89-90.
Provenance: William Strickland; Charles Winn (husband of
Priscilla Strickland, son in-law and cousin of William Strickland),
by sale, 1834; Rowland Winn, 1st Baron St. Oswald of Nostell, by
descent, 1874; Rowland Winn, 2nd Baron St. Oswald of Nostell,
by descent, 1893; Rowland George Winn, 3rd Baron St. Oswald of
Nostell, by descent, 1919; Rowland Denys Guy Winn, Major the
Eord St. Oswald, M.C., by descent, 1957; Christie, Manson, and
Woods’ sale of English, Foreign, and Important American Coins, the
Property of Major the Eord St. Oswald, M. C., October 1964, lot 141;
Fester Merkin’s sale of October 1973, lot 451; Dr. Herbert Ketterman
to Jimmy Hayes, via sale; Jimmy Hayes Collection; Stack’s sale of April
1983, lot 1220; RARCOA, by sale, September 1987.
Est. $500,000-$700,000
110 STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Silver Dollars
Numismatics in America in the late 1700s
When William Strickland was visiting the United States in 1794 and 1795
he probably did not encounter anyone with a numismatic interest in American
coins. Those who collected, including his acquaintances John Adams and Thomas
Jefferson, typically sought ancient and classic coins and medals. Records of early
coin collectors in that era are few and far between. An exception was provided
by William Bentley, D.D., of Salem, Massachusetts, who entered in his diary some
interesting observations of coins then in circulation, creating one of the earliest
records of this type known to exist. His notes for September 2, 1787 included:
About this time there was a great difficulty respecting the circulation of small copper
coin. Those of George III, being well executed, were of uncommon thinness, and those
stamped from the face of other coppers in sand, commonly called “Birmingham,” were very
badly executed. Beside these were the coppers bearing the authority of the states ofVermont,
Connecticut and New York, etc., but no accounts how issued, regularly transmitted.
The Connecticut copper has a face of general form resembling the Georges, but with
this inscription AUCTORI: CONNEC:The edge is plain, but the face fretted on one
side near the edge. On the other side there is a woman resembling the Britannia of the
English coppers with the staff & cap of liberty in one hand & the branch of peace in the other
& shield behind, the inscription INDE: ET: LIB: underneath 1787, & late dates. . .
A mint is said preparing for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It may be noted that the
New York and Connecticut coin face opposite ways.
To remember aU the coin which passes through my hands, I note down a few coppers of
foreign coins, Swedish coin, shield, three bars, lion, etc., 1763, measures one inch and 3-10; another
1747, similar; Russian, a warrior on horseback with a spear piercing a dragon, on the reverse a wreath infolding a
This was part of the entry for September 16, 1787:
THE D3ARV
WILLIAM BLLNTLEV, D D.
PAITM nr TWE KMJ tHVKH
■UUV. WlUMHUILTTli
Antk, — □«! IHHh k
cypher.
In removing a stone wall in Mystic or Medford, in 1783, there were found under it a large collection of brass pieces
nearly square, mixed with the smallest brass coins of Europe, the whole half a peck. A few round ones have a fleur-de-
lis stamped on each side of them. . . .
A coin circulated with the apparent authority ofVermont. A star with an eye in the centre and between the rays
other stars in number thirteen. On the reverse a wreath in which is enclosed the cyphers U.S. Inscription Libertas et
Justitia. 1785.
The July 20, 1791 entry included this:
Being Commencement at Cambridge [Harvard College], I set out for Cambridge from Deacon Ridgeways and in
a chaise went to Judge Winthrop’s with whom I spent the day. In the morning I entertained myself with his curious
cabinet of Coins and Medals. It was large and not with any antiques, but it had a great variety of small pieces and may
be deemed the best we have in this part of the country. It is improving its value by constant additions, but it requires
too great an interest in this country, to have its full success.
Bentley’s diary entry on October 23, 1795, describes his work with an important cabinet (of which
little is known today):
Busied myself to provide catalogue of coins for Mr. [Samuel] Curwin’s collection for Mr.Winthrop. Such collections
are rare in this country and in some parts utterly unknown. This is the largest that I have ever seen. The real antiques
in silver are an Athenian City, a Greek City, a Consul, Scipio, Juba, Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius, Hadrian,
and Marcus Antoninus. There are also a considerable number of copper and Mantuans, which the connoisseurs must
distinguish. Among the modern is to be found a MARYLAND coin, Cecilius C Lord Baltimore. A Specimen is to be
seen of all the modern coinage in this collection.
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 1 1 1
179S Flowing Hair Silver Dollar. Bowers Borckardt-18, Bolender-7. Rarity-3. Three Leaves.
Silver Plug. Mint State-64 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Silver Dollars
Spectacular 1795 Silver Plug Flowing Hair Dollar
With Provenance to 1895
Lot 2044. 1795 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar. Bowers Borckardt-18, Bolender-7. Rarity-3. Three
Leaves. Silver Plug. Mint State-64 (PCGS).
‘‘Curious oval planchet defect at centre of obverse. ” — Walter Breen, 1956
A final world-class example from these dies, struck on a
planchet with a bold circular plug located precisely at the central
obverse. Bold cartwheel luster encircles both sides. The obverse
displays violet-tinged gray fields, a circle of pale blue inside the
stars, and lighter gold and blue at the rims. The reverse is mostly
pale violet with peripheral blue, more frosty and lustrous than the
obverse. The strike is very sharp, though perhaps not as definitive
as others in this collection, with each star showing centers that
are sharp but not complete, some softness in the hair detail above
Liberty’s ear, and an oval flat area on the eagle’s breast, below
which some vertically oriented adjustment marks have not been
fully struck out. The denticles are bold and the rims are precisely
struck, and both Liberty and the eagle’s face show expressive detail.
The obverse shows some natural granularity in the middle of the
fields. The central plug is easy to see, with much of its borders
evident where a small gap exists between the plug and the main
planchet around it.The obverse is free of adjustment marks, while
the reverse shows some at center and less notable ones at UNI
and below the right ribbon end. A couple of minuscule scrapes
are seen below the corner of Liberty’s eye, and a short scratch is
present between the denticles and the top of star 12, issues whose
aesthetic impact is nil. The die state is the typical one, before the
lapping that marks the second scarcer die state.
Writing in 1907, Samuel Hudson Chapman called this
extraordinary example “Uncirculated” with “mint luster” and
noted its “rare variety and state.” He did not, however, know
what to make of the plug, which he clearly detected but called
a “faint nick on ear in planchet.” The plug is plainly visible,
looking much as Chapman described it, on Plate VI of the
famous David S. Wilson sale catalog. A half decade later, Walter
Breen noticed the plug, and recognized the nature of it, but
according to a letter written in 1993 (quoted in Q. David
Bowers’ Silver Dollars and Trade Dollars of the United States)
“dared not use the word ‘plug’ or ‘plugged’ in the description
lest it frighten off buyers!” He settled for a vague reference to a
“curious oval planchet defect at centre of obverse” in the 1956
T. James Clarke sale; when he had the chance to catalog this
coin again in 1968, he didn’t mention it at all. Interestingly, a
profoundly double struck specimen of this variety with a silver
plug has been hiding in plain sight for decades, in the National
Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.
Credit for correctly interpreting the plugged dollars of 1795
goes to Kenneth Bressett, whose research was published in the
proceedings of the 1993 Coinage of the America’s Conference
on “America’s Silver Dollars.” Bressett also found an 1817-dated
reference to a similar procedure at the mint in Lima, Peru
whereby “the dollar is then put under a screw which has a pointed
instrument in the end of it, which is screwed down and pierces
a hole in the dollar sufficiently large to receive the pin; then it is
placed under another screw with a smooth end, which completely
fastens the pin in the coin; they are then passed into another room
where they are coined.” Similar plugs, used to enhance the weight
of coins that had been clipped, are seen in silver coins from Latin
American mints dating to the late 17th century.
This dollar has always been desirable as beautifully toned, and
well preserved. Thanks to numismatic researchers like Breen and
Bressett, the unusual silver-plug production is now appreciated
as something very special, as well as very rare. It is perhaps the
ultimate testimony to the excellence of the D. Brent Pogue
Collection that such an important coin is the third finest example
of this die variety present in this collection. In any other context,
a 1795 dollar such as this would be a singular highlight.
PCGS Population: 2, 1 finer (MS-65 +). (Silver Plug)
Publications: Bowers, Q. David. Silver Dollars & Trade
Dollars of the United States: A Complete Encyclopedia, 1993, p. 204.
Bowers, Q. David. The Encyclopedia of United States Silver Dollars
1794-1804, 2013, p. 90.
Provenance: Richard Winsor Collection; Henry and Samuel
Hudson Chapman’s sale of the Richard Winsor Collection, December
1895, lot 388; David S. Wilson Collection; Samuel Hudson
Chapman’s sale of the David S. Wilson Collection, March 1907, lot
366;T James Clarke Collection; New Netherlands Coin Company’s
48th sale, November 1956, lot 612;Jacque C. (Mrs. Alfred) Ostheimer;
Eester Merkin’s sale of September 1968, lot 320; Stack’s sale of
October 1986, lot 102; Stack’s sale of the Hain Family Collection,
January 2002, lot 1500.
Est. $250,000-$300,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 113
179S Flowing Hair Silver Dollar. Bowers Borckardt-21, Bolender-1. Rarity-2. Two Leaves.
Mint State-65 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Silver Dollars
The Majestic Robert Coulton Davis Gem 1795 Dollar
Two Leaves Reverse, Tied for Finest
Lot 2045. 1795 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar. Bowers Borckardt-21, Bolender-1. Rarity-2. Two
Leaves. Mint State-65 (PCGS).
^^The Dollar original die for the head will take six or eight days. ”
— Robert Scot, i 195
Spokes of cartwheel lustre swirl from rim to rim, emboldening
both the rich gold of the centers and the bright brilliance inside
the rims. The full reflectivity and frost of the fields emerges
through the light, pleasant toning.The strike is bold on both sides,
the obverse having been struck firmly enough to bring up the
centers of each star along with full crisp denticles and Liberty’s
nicely rounded cheek. Her hair is intact and well delineated, free
of adjustment marks that often manifest near the obverse center. A
few very subtle adjustment marks are seen at the absolute center
of the reverse, where the eagle’s breast shows some localized
softness, but the rest of that side magnificently illustrates the
design as it was intended. Some vestiges of adjustment above STA
of STATES blend into the background. A subtle pattern of flecks
are noted across the obverse, the manifestation of tiny impurities
in the silver; the longest of these horizontal flecks and striations
are at absolute center, below Liberty’s ear, and in the upper right
obverse field inside of star 9. A thin scratch arcs from the rim
above star 8 to the rim above the space between LI of LIBERTY.
Few marks are seen on this prime survivor that showcases the
finest aspects any 18th century United States silver coin could
hope to exhibit.
Robert Scot was appointed engraver at the United States
Mint in November 1793 and was employed in that position until
his death in 1823. Scot was responsible for engraving master dies,
which he called “original dies,” and the central device punches or
hubs that were raised from them. He also had a hand in producing
the working dies that were used for coining, though some of
that work was delegated to assistants like John Smith Gardner.
Though modern writers have attributed several designs of this era
to Gardner, he likely accomplished the day-to-day grunt work in
the engraving department, executing a wide range of working
dies, called “coining dies” by Scot, rather than performing the
creative work that has been credited to him.
Scot’s written testimony to Congress, oflered early in 1795
to answer questions about the workload of the engraving
department, has been cited by authors including Don Taxay
and Robert Hilt, though Bill Nyberg was the first to actually
publish it Qohn Reich Journal, August 2012). Scot’s testimony
reveals that the time to engrave an obverse master die for a 1795
dollar, consisting of the Liberty head design, took “six or eight
days” and a reverse master die took “nearly the same time.” “After
their Hubbs are compleated,” Scot wrote, “a head Die for striking
money may be finished in two days,” assuming that the brittle
steel of the die did not crack during the hardening process.
The master dies created hubs, which were then used to
produce working dies. Reverses required two master dies, with
the eagle device on one hub or punch, the wreath on another.
Today, 1795 dollars are neatly divided into two groups based upon
which wreath hub was used, one showing two leaves under each
wing, the other showing three leaves. Two different eagle hubs
were used as well. This variety shows the same eagle and wreath
used on the 1794 dollars, produced using hubs first made for the
1794 coinage. This may be among the reasons M.H. Bolender
called this variety Bolender-1, though the emission sequence for
1795 dollars has never been entirely settled.
Apparently hidden away during the 20th century, this
specimen does not appear among the “Notable Specimens”
listed in Q. David Bowers’ 1993 work on early dollars. Among
those offered in modern times, only the MS-65 (NGC) Jack
Lee-Madison Collection-Joseph C. Thomas specimen comes
close to this quality. In 1890, David Proskey described this
“Naked bust” dollar as a “strong, sharp and beautiful uncirculated
specimen.” It brought $16.75. Only two coins of the entire Two
Leaves type have been certified at the MS-65 level by PCGS,
this coin and the one in the next lot. Of the five 1795 dollars
of all types certified MS-65 or finer by PCGS, four appear in
the current sale.
PCGS Population: 2, none finer. (Two Leaves)
Publications: Bowers, Q. David. The Encyclopedia of United
States Silver Dollars 1794-1804, 2013, p. 94.
Provenance: Robert Coulton Davis Collection; New York
Stamp and Coin Company's (Harlan Page Smith and David Proskey)
sale of the Robert Coulton Davis Collection, January 1890, lot 427;
Lawrence Stack Type Set; Stack’s, via sale, January 2003.
Est. $300,000-$400,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 1 1 5
179S Flowing Hair Silver Dollar. Bowers Borckardt-24, Bolender-13. Rarity-5. Two Leaves.
Mint State-65 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Silver Dollars
The Atwater Gem 1795 Two Leaves Dollar
Tied for Finest at PCGS
Lot 2046. 1795 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar. Bowers Borckardt-24, Bolender-13. Rarity-5. Two
Leaves. Mint State-65 (PCGS).
is the most magnificent 1 195 dollar of this type that I have ever
seen. ” — B. Max Mehl, 1946
A legendary specimen and a coin of incomparable quality,
this dollar shows fully realized detail and serves to ideally depict
the design type. Both sides show unusually strong reflectivity, a
characteristic that led B. Max Mehl to describe this as a “semi-
proof, just about equal to a brilliant Proof.” The toning is deep
and ancient, with navy blue on the obverse that incorporates
light blue and violet while yielding to limpid gold inside the
rims, while the reverse is toned with a lighter blue through
most of the center, winged with the same champagne gold
at the extreme left and right sides. The portrait of Liberty is
engraved in the highest style, with a rounded cheek, open eye,
and delicate lips, each well struck, creating a realistic vision of
the goddess. The high relief portrait has won the battle of metal
flow with the reverse, a compromise that has cost the eagle’s
breast some fine detail. The stars are sculptural in their relief, the
denticles on both sides are well formed, and the entire design
presents itself with elegance. A batch of adjustment marks
remains from where a small amount of metal was carefully
removed from the periphery of the planchet before striking,
visible between 6:00 and 9:00, affecting stars 1 and 2 at the time
of striking. Further parallel adjustment marks are seen at the
absolute center of the obverse, descending down along Liberty’s
hair line to near the bust truncation, and in less obvious form
are likewise visible among the letters of LIBERTY. A short, old
contact mark between the base of the 5 in the date and star 13
remains in the same form as it was when Mehl noticed it in
1946, marginalized near the rim and not a notable detriment. A
short curved lintmark is noted on the reverse, above the right
wing, and a batch of minor contact points is found between the
base of the left wing and the two-leaf cluster below, the pairing
that gives the “Two Leaves” type its nomenclature.
There is not another specimen of this variety known in
Mint State, nor are there any in lower grades that approach
this coin’s incredible visual appeal. Nearly a half-century into
his career, B. Max Mehl had never encountered a finer 1795
dollar. While Atwater’s source for this dollar is unknown, Mehl
commented that “he was a consistent buyer of gem specimens.”
Atwater acquired coins from many of the most notable auctions
of the first quarter of the 20th century, as well as privately from
dealers, including cherrypicking many choice specimens from
the Col. James W. Ellsworth collection from the inventory of
Wayte Raymond ca. 1923.
Among the spectacular Flowing Hair dollars of the D. Brent
Pogue Collection, this one stands out for its rarity as a die variety.
When Milferd H. Bolender wrote the first stand-alone work on
early dollars, he noted “the author’s example is probably the
Haseltine specimen. Two others are known to the authors, and
no others have been heard of in 40 years.” Described in the
Haseltine Type-Table, written by J. Colvin Randall and published
in 1881, this variety was listed as unique. While more have been
identified in the intervening decades, nearly all have been in well
circulated grades. The only Mint State survivors from this die
marriage are this coin and the Baldenhofer-Ostheimer piece,
graded MS-62 (PCGS). Just two 1795 dollars of all varieties
have been graded finer than this one by PCGS, and both are in
the present sale. Of the three examples of the date certified as
MS-65 by PCGS, two are offered herein, including one in the
preceding lot.
PCGS Population: 2, none finer. (Two Leaves)
Publications: Bowers, Q. David. The Encyclopedia of United
States Silver Dollars 1794-1804, 2013, p. 94 and p. 98. Bowers,
Q. David. Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States: A
Complete Encyclopedia, 1993, p. 211-21. Plated on page 211.
Provenance: William Cutler Atwater Collection; William C.
Atwater, Jr. and John J. Atwater, by descent, 1940; B. Max MehVs sale
of the William Cutler Atwater Collection, June 1946, lot 187; Eouis
G. Stirling Collection; Frank Mumford Stirling Collection, by gift or
descent, before 1984; Heritage’s sale of February 1986, lot 1328;
Anthony Terranova; Bowers and Merena’s Four Fandmark Collections
sale, March 1989, lot 1942; Superior Galleries’ sale of May 1991, lot
948; Fawrence Stack Type Set; Stack’s, via sale, January 2003.
Est. $300,000-$400,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 117
'?l
1795 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar. Bowers Borckardt-27, Bolender-5. Rarity-1. Three Leaves.
Mint State-64+ (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Silver Dollars
Beautifully Toned 1795 Flowing Hair Dollar
The Foxfire Specimen
Lot 2047. 1795 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar. Bowers Borckardt-27, Bolender-5. Rarity-1. Three
Leaves. Mint State-64+ (PCGS).
fourth [press] for dollars and medals, in particular, will be finished
in about three months .” — Elias Boudinot, February 9, 1795
Pastel iridescence has gathered on both obverse and reverse,
each lightly reflective and fully lustrous, the sort of toning imbued
by decades in a paper envelope over the sort of surfaces that only
good fortune and benign neglect can ensure. Outside of direct
light, the toning sparkles with metallic silver-gray with dusky
blue and blushes of orange-gold. Well lit, the luster enflames a
bright golden periphery retaining blue-green and deep violet
on the obverse, while the reverse blends silver and deep amber
with peripheral blue. The detail is complete, ideally centered, and
framed with broad denticles around the entire circumference of
both sides. Each star shows full, fine centers. The eagle s breast
is fully feathered, a bit soft at absolute center but complete
nonetheless, while the highest relief of Liberty’s portrait, at the
opposite center, shows the ear and the full gamut of accompanying
fine details. Short vestiges of adjustment marks are seen inside of
the obverse denticles, outside of stars 1 through 4, and an asterisk
of deeper adjustment marks is hidden in Liberty’s hair below her
ear. A glass finds some very minor hairlines and minor slide marks
on the cheek. A single dark speck is present in the right obverse
field below its midpoint. The die state is typical, with a fine die
crack from the left ribbon end to the denticle below it, near U
of UNITED. The tops of the reverse lettering are drawn slightly
toward the rim. The line-like die injury, seen on all specimens
of this variety between star 5 and the back of Liberty’s hair, is
present. The aesthetic appeal, incorporating every aspect from
strike to color, luster to technical grade, is superlative.
This die variety is the variety chosen more often than any
other to represent the type, as more examples from this marriage
have survived than any other die marriage before the institution
of the Draped Bust design. Common in circulated grades and
occasionally available at lower Mint State levels, the variety that
was long known as Bolender-5 remains extremely rare as a gem.
The typical solid strike seen on this variety, showing softness
only at the extreme centers, could not have happened using the
press used for the incompletely struck 1794 dollars. Intended
for smaller coins, that press was pushed beyond its limits to coin
the large diameter dollars. Its insufficiency resulted in a halt in
dollar coinage until the situation could be remedied.
Elias Boudinot, director of the Mint, assured Congress on
February 9 that “A fourth [press] for dollars and medals, in
particular, will be finished in about three months.” The first
group of dollars struck on the new press was delivered on May
6, 1795, almost exactly three months after his testimony. The
press was paid for on February 2, a week before Boudinot
testified, when a warrant for $937.19 was made payable to
Samuel Howell, Junior and Co. for “sundry castings, wrought
iron, etc.” Records cited in Frank H. Stewart’s History of the First
United States Mint indicate that this press weighed “1 ton 11
cwt,” or 3,232 pounds. This enormous, durable machine never
yielded its position as the largest of the Mint’s screw presses,
striking all future Flowing Hair and Draped Bust dollars.
Though the dollar press of 1795 represented a giant leap
forward for the Philadelphia Mint, silver dollars continued to be
struck with more attention to their weight than their aesthetics.
Production of specimens like this, boldly struck upon a planchet
free of significant adjustment marks or other natural flaws,
remained inconsistent, and examples of this remarkable technical
quality that have survived to the present are extraordinarily rare.
Despite the incredible plurality of gems in the D. Brent Pogue
Collection, no 1795 Flowing Hair dollar graded finer than MS-
64 by PCGS has ever sold at public auction.
PCGS Population: 1,2 finer (MS-66 finest). (Three leaves)
Publications: Bowers, Q. David. Silver Dollars & Trade
Dollars of the United States: A Complete Encyclopedia, 1993, p. 217.
Bowers, Q. David. The Encyclopedia of United States Silver Dollars
1794-1804, 2013, p. 104.
Provenance: Acquired in Eondon, England in the early 1970s;
Bowers and Ruddy Galleries; Dr. Neil Chamberlain Collection, via
sale; Bowers and Ruddy ^s sale of the Montgomery Collection, February
1976, lot 1998; Hank Rodgers Collection; Bret Simons, by sale. May
1978; Foxfire Collection (Claude E. Davis, MD); acquired with the
Foxfire Collection, en bloc, by sale, October 2004.
Est. $250,000-$350,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 1 1 9
UNITED STATES QUARTER EAGLES 1821-1839
In the D. Brent Pogue Collection Part I sale we presented
quarter eagles from the first year of issue, 1796, to 1808.
After 1808 there was no coinage of this denomination until
1821. By that time no gold coins were seen in domestic
circulation. The international price of gold bullion had
risen to the point at which it took a few cents over face
value to coin quarter and half eagles. $10 gold eagles had
not been minted since 1804 as so many had been exported
that the Treasury discontinued the denomination.
From the time that quarter eagle production resumed
in 1821 through the first half of 1834, only 42,065 coins
were made in total, not enough that anyone had a realistic
chance of seeing one. Although facts are scarce, it is likely
that most were used domestically, where they were valued at
a premium. In contrast nearly all half eagles were exported.
Quarter eagles of the 1821-1827 years are of a modified
Liberty Head adapted from John Reich’s Capped Bust,
but different in appearance. The diameter is the same as
that used since 1796. Coins of these years are rare today,
with, perhaps, 1827 being the very rarest, although the
1826 receives more publicity in this regard.
In 1829, engraver William Kneass made slight
modifications to the quarter eagle dies, including reducing
the diameter to 18.2 mm. On the obverse the stars are
closer to the border, with the spacing appearing especially
tight above Miss Liberty’s head. On the reverse the letters
are closer to the border. On both obverse and reverse the
dentils are shorter and differently formed.
In 1832, engraver William Kneass modified the portrait
very slightly. The details of certain hair curls are different,
and the relief of the head appears to be more “solid.” The
obverse border is more prominent. Mintages were low for
each year. Proof mintages were extremely small, but original
information is virtually non-existent except for pieces made
in 1834 for presentation sets. Complicating the question is
the use of polished dies to create prooflike circulation strikes.
To permit gold coins to circulate at par Congress reduced
the authorized weight of the various denominations
through the Act of June 28, 1834. For the quarter eagle
the weight was reduced from 67.5 grains to 64.5 grains.
On August 1, 1834, the new standard went into effect.
So that the public could readily differentiate the new
coins from the old, the design was changed. Engraver
William Kneass created what is called the Classic Head
today. The head of Miss Liberty faces left, her hair secured
by a band inscribed LIBERTY, stars circling her head.
and with the date below. The reverse depicts an eagle
with a shield on its breast, perched on an olive branch
and holding three arrows. The inscriptions UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA and 2J4 D. surround. Beginning
in 1838 quarter eagles were also struck at the Charlotte
Mint, then in 1839 at the Charlotte, Dahlonega, and New
Orleans mints. These coins have mintmarks C, D, or O on
the obverse above the date.
The D. Brent Pogue Collection quarter eagles from
1821 to 1839 is not even closely equaled by any prior
presentation of this series.
Quarter Eagle Design Types
1821-1839
Capped Head to Left — Large Diameter
1821-1827
Capped Head to Left — Reduced Diameter
1829-1834
Classic Head — No Motto
1834-1839
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 121
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Quarter Eagles
The Parmelee-Eliasberg Gem 1821 Quarter Eagle
Long Considered a Proof Striking
Lot 2048. 1821 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-5. Mint State-66+ (PCGS).
^^Sharp and perfect Proof; extremely rare. ”
— David Proskey, cataloging this coin for the 1890 Parmelee sale
Called a Proof in the 1982 EHasberg sale, now certified as the
finest circulation strike PCGS has seen of this date, this coin has
inspired wonder and conversation for decades. The frosty devices
contrast with the mirrored fields on both sides. The deep maize-
orange gold color doesn’t just suggest originality, it trumpets it,
joined by the deepening toning at the rims, the ancient spots here
and there, and the warm reflectivity over aU fields. The tiny spots
are badges of honor, rare among early U.S. gold coins because the
surfaces of so many have been altered over time. This one wears its
birthmarks proudly, visible between stars 7 and 8, right of Liberty’s
eye, behind the tip of Liberty’s cap, under M of AMERICA, and
elsewhere. Some adjustment marks are seen, including a nearly
obliterated vertical line through B of LIBERTY, a batch of
horizontal lines at Liberty’s side curl and ear, and another at star 13.
A few wispy lines do not diminish the extraordinary surface quality
in the least.The visual appeal is magnificent for a coin of any nation
or era, and superlative for a quarter eagle of this type.
Powerfully reflective, boldly struck, fuUy detailed, perfectly pre-
served, the chance happenstance of a circulation strike coin being
so ideally produced and saved approaches the likelihood of a comet
strike. Such microscopic probability is one arrow in the quiver of
those who would say this coin is a Proof. Another arrow is the look
of this coin, which begs the question of how it could be anything
other than a Proof. The reeding is sharp and square, more so than
typically seen, and the area between the reeds appears bright and
polished beyond the standard luster seen in this area on a high
grade early quarter eagle. The die state is extremely early, with
raised die finish lines visible throughout the fields, to a particularly
noticeable degree on the reverse. The area of frost over the top left
corner of the shield at the juncture of wing and body diminishes
over time, but is in its largest state here. That the rims are not per-
fectly square is not necessarily damning, as few Proofs of this era
have the perfectly squared rims typical of a later period. In its basic
aesthetic considerations, this coin passes every test. On more tech-
nical merits, the best known hallmark of Proof 1821 quarter eagles
is a shallow depression on Liberty’s jawline, extending beneath her
earcurl to her jawline. John Dannreuther points out in Early U.S.
Gold Coin Varieties that “the Smithsonian Institution Proof does not
have the cheek depression, while some of the circulation and other
Proof strikes do have it,” remarking that “this seems to indicate a
production run between two Proof strikings.”
In some ways, this coin’s status as a Proof or circulation strike
does not matter. Modern numismatists can never know the intent
of the coiner with certainty, and any standards we define today
would be foreign to the men who struck this coin. Gem quality,
however, stands the test of time and requires no definition. The
search for quality that has defined the D. Brent Pogue Collection
is embodied by a coin such as this: historic, rare, possessing a
world-class provenance, and indubitably the finest of its kind.
In the 1982 Eliasberg catalog, this coin was described as
“a truly fantastic quarter eagle, one of the foremost highlights
of the present collection. No amount of words in print could
exaggerate or overdescribe the importance or beauty of this little
cameo.” The Chapman brothers more economically described
this coin 80 years earlier as “brilliant Proof, very rare” in their
catalog for the John G. Mills Collection sale, the last time this
coin was sold at auction prior to the Eliasberg sale. It brought
$37, five dollars more than the Mills 1796 No Stars quarter
eagle. Since the 1880s, this coin has been in six collections, each
of them famous: Parmelee, Mills, Clapp, Eliasberg, Hayes, and
Pogue. The succession of its provenance is unbroken and august.
The next name added it to this list joins numismatic royalty.
PCGS Population: 1, none finer.
Publications: Bowers, Q. David. United States Gold Coins:
An Illustrated History, 1982. Depicted on Color Plate 2.
Provenance: Lorin G. Parmelee Collection; New York Stamp
and Coin Company's (Harlan Page Smith and David Proskey) sale of
the Lorin G. Parmelee Collection, June 1890, lot 931; John G. Mills
Collection; Henry and Samuel Hudson ChapmaUs sale of the John G.
Mills Collection, April 1904, lot 537; John H. Clapp Collection; Clapp
Estate; Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, via Stack’s, 1942; Bowers and
Ruddy’s sale of the United States Gold Collection (Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. ),
October 1982, lot 90; Jimmy Hayes Collection; Stack’s session of Auction
’84, July 1984, lot 1373, via Mike Brownlee (Goliad Corporation).
Est. $250,000-$350,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 123
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Quarter Eagles
Historic 1824 Quarter Eagle Rarity
Among The Finest Known
(2x photo)
Lot 2049. 1824/1 Bass Dannreuther-l. Rarity-5. Mint State-63 (PCGS).
‘^Gold Coins. The Bank of the United States has lately put into
circulation an unusual quantity of half and quarter eagles,
in payments to members of Congress. ”
— Niles’ Weekly Register, May 15, 1824
An early striking from these dies, coined when the overdate
was still readily visible and the fields retained a good deal of
reflectivity. Deep yellow gold with darker toning on the devices
that approaches muted coppery orange. Nicely reflective but
also showing an impressive degree of cartwheel luster on
both sides, this piece is more deeply mirrored on the obverse,
perhaps an indication that it followed soon after the striking of
a small number of one-sided Proofs, of which at least two are
known. A substantial area of die polish frost is present beneath
the bust truncation, over 8 of the date, an area that diminished
as the die state progressed. Detail is excellent
everywhere, and the minor softness left of the
shield seen on this coin is common to most
other known specimens, including the Bass
one-sided Proof. Scattered marks are seen in
the fields, including a short scratch between
star 5 and the denticles, an abrasion right
of star 2, and others elsewhere. The surfaces
show excellent originality and what hairlines
are present are not the result of mishandling.
A natural planchet chip or depression is
hidden between ST of STATES.
By the time this quarter eagle was struck,
part of a mintage of just 2,600 coins. United
States gold coins were worth more than their face value.
International markets for gold and silver had rendered out of
balance the ratio upon which the weights of American gold
and silver coins had been predicated, driving gold coins from
circulation as people chose to spend silver instead. Testimony
given by the US. representative from Maine, Ezekiel Whitman,
to the House of Representatives in February 1821 complained
that “gold coins, both foreign and of the United States, have,
in great measure, disappeared.” Laying the blame at the feet of
a 15:1 ratio in the values of gold and silver enshrined in the
Mint Act of 1792, Whitman observed that “its tendency is to
rid us of a gold currency, and leave us nothing but silver.” A
number of members of Congress took a firm stance on “hard
money,” making their preference for gold over silver or paper
money a rigid part of their political identity. Thomas Hart
Benton, a senator from Missouri, assumed such a position upon
his election to the Senate in 1821. Nicknamed “Old Bullion,”
Benton famously eschewed paper money, insisting rather upon
paying out and receiving nothing but gold. While this might
have made for good political theatre, it also had the benefit
of giving him a raise of approximately 7%. The entire 1824
mintage of quarter eagles, amounting to just $6,500 face value,
may well have been struck expressly to be dropped into the pay
envelopes of sitting congressmen.
With an estimated survivorship of just 50
to 60 pieces given in Early U.S. Cold Coin
Varieties by John Dannreuther and Harry
Bass, the 1824/1 quarter eagle ranks as
one of the most elusive dates of the entire
denomination. All 1824 quarter eagles were
struck from a single set of dies. The obverse
was manufactured in 1821 but went unused,
as the mintage of 6,448 for the year rendered
a second obverse die unnecessary.This reverse
did see use in 1821, surviving through 1821
and 1824 unscathed, then lasting through
two more marriages in 1825. Most 1824/1
quarter eagles that have survived did so in
grades below Mint State, and PCGS has never certified a gem.
PCGS Population: 3, 2 finer (MS-64).
Provenance: RARCOA’s session of Auction ’85, July 1985,
lot 357; American Numismatic Rarities’ sale of A Centleman’s
Collection, June 2005, lot 1005.
Est. $50,000-$60,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 125
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Quarter Eagles
The Finest Known 1825 Quarter Eagle
The Only MS-67 Graded For the Entire Design Type
(2x photo)
Lot 2050. 1825 Bass Dannreuther-2. Rarity-4+. Mint State-67 (PCGS).
‘^The total amount of coinage at our Mint, since its first establishment,
is only 23,650,502 dollars ...for a national circulating medium,
scarcely two dollars a head for an increasing population.”
— The Western Carolinian, Salisbury, North Carolina,
December 31, 1825
A coin whose quality belies belief, a gem whose
preservation would be unimaginable were it not in hand.
Dark violet coppery toning, tinged with highlights of cobalt
blue, decorates the rims around both sides and adds elegant
highlights to the reverse fields. Aglow with satiny luster on
both sides, this piece is fantastically frosty, superb beyond the
ability of words to convey. Despite its magnificence, it is not
perfect, and it shows a scant few lines, tiny and discrete flaws
that should not be confused for the parallel mostly vertical
die finish lines that are somewhat prominent under well-lit
scrutiny. A single short line is seen right of star 4, leaning
down to Liberty’s nose, and another is beneath the southwest
points of star 10. Both sides are exquisitely struck, even the
often-soft upper left of the shield, offering details that make
this an ideal candidate to be depicted poster-sized in an effort
to chart every stroke executed by the engraver. Technically
approaching perfection, aesthetically embracing it, this is the
finest survivor of the design type examined by PCGS.
The 5 of the date is lightly recut, an aspect easily seen under
low magnification. A very thin, fragile die crack joins the left
bottom point of the 2 in the date to the base of the 8, arcing
to a denticle just beyond it. Another fine crack joins a denticle
to the top right point of star 6 and continues into the field
beyond it. This is the most frequently encountered of the three
die varieties known for the year, the other two considered
Rarity-6 + and rarely encountered in any grade.
This coin is the finest surviving specimen of this date and
the only MS-67 certified by either service for all dates of the
Capped Bust, Large Diameter type. The Josiah K. Lilly 1826
quarter eagle in the National Numismatic Collection at the
Smithsonian Institution, earlier from our 1954 Anderson-
Dupont sale, has been graded Proof-66 by Jeff Garrett and John
Dannreuther, offering the only substantial competition. PCGS
has never certified another example of the date finer than MS-
64, and it has never certified a Proof. The Harry Bass Core
Collection, housed at the American Numismatic Association,
includes a specimen that has been graded Proof-62. Though
unable to be proven, the present example may be the Eliasberg
duplicate that was sold in Stack’s October 1947 H.R. Lee sale,
described as “a magnificent Uncirculated gem with proof like
surface. Sharp strike with full stars.”The Eliasberg Collection, as
sold in 1982, included a Proof specimen of this date described
at the time as Proof-55. The second finest example of this date,
from the Bareford Collection, our sale of March 1985, Auction
’89, and other more recent sales, is graded MS-64 (PCGS).
Like all of the Large Diameter quarter eagle mintages of
1821 through 1827, this issue is rare in all grades and extremely
rare in choice Mint State. Just three examples of the entire type
have been graded MS-65 or finer by PCGS. AU three of them
are in the D. Brent Pogue Collection.
PCGS Population: l,none finer.
Provenance: Abe Kosoff; Mike Kliman and Robert Emmer, ca.
1974; RARCOA’s session of Auction ’88, July 1988, lot 1872;
Great Lakes Collection; Larry Hanks, by sale, August 2000.
Est. $350,000-$450,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 127
WA
'^''4
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Quarter Eagles
Extremely Rare 1826 Quarter Eagle
Lowest Mintage of the Type
(2x photo)
Lot 2051. 1826/‘5’ Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-5+. About Uncirculated-58 (PCGS).
have seen fewer of this date than I have of any other of this type. ”
— David Akers
Pleasing light yellow gold with some faint pale green
undertones. Some vestiges ofluster remain on the surfaces, which
show a variety of tiny marks from this coin’s use as a medium
of exchange. Indications of its former prooflike character
remain, with bits of reflectivity visible around design elements.
Some light hairlines are present on both sides, two thin parallel
scratches are noted from L of PLURIBUS under the beak
tip to center, no particularly heavy individual contact marks.
The dies are clashed, visible on both sides,
with retrograde outlines of both central
devices seen around their counterpart. The
repunching is plain to the north of the final
date digit, and the curvature of the partially
effaced first attempt remains visible enough
to say with certainty that the digit is a 6,
not a 5 as long believed.
Long associated with a mintage figure
of 760 pieces, a total derived from the
number of quarter eagles delivered in
1826, John Dannreuther makes the case
that some of the quarter eagles delivered in
1827 were actually dated 1826. Based upon auction appearance
evidence that suggests the 1826 is approximately twice as rare
as 1827 (stated mintage: 2,800), he offers an estimated mintage
range between the canonical figure of 760 pieces and a high
of 1,750 pieces. If 1,000 of the pieces delivered in 1827 were
actually dated 1826, that would translate to mintage figures of
1,760 coins dated 1826 and 1,800 coins dated 1827, hardly
a big enough difference to fairly represent the relative rarity
of the two dates. A ratio of 1,187 coins dated 1826 to 2,373
coins dated 1827 would better represent the relationship. Such
a mintage would also leave the 1826 quarter eagle with the
lowest mintage of the type by a large margin, consistent with
the opinions of most experts on its rarity and the above-quoted
observation of David Akers that “I have seen fewer of this date
than I have of any other of this type.”
The United States portion of the Amon Carter Family
collection was mostly formed by Amon Carter Sr., a major
buyer in some of the most famous auctions of the 1940s and
early 1950s. His friendship with fellow Fort Worth resident B.
Max Mehl got him first choice of many of the fine collections
that came across MehFs doorstep. His favorite local source
handled three 1826 quarter eagles in the decade that Carter
was most active, any of which could be this coin based upon
the assigned grade and description. The
image of the Dunham (1941) 1826
quarter eagle bears a strong resemblance
to this one, while the Atwater (1946) and
Golden Jubilee/Kern (1950) catalogs
used the same stock image to represent
two different specimens, the latter of
which came from the Col. Green estate.
Mehl described this issue as “excessively
rare, one of the rarest American gold
coins.” Its rarity has been chronically
underappreciated, and perhaps as few as
20 discrete specimens survive. None of
those known are gem. Among the 17 instances PCGS has
rendered an opinion on a specimen of this issue, the highest
grade assigned is just MS-61.
PCGS Population: 5, 3 finer (MS-61 finest).
Provenance: Amon Carter Collection, probably acquired by
Amon Carter Sr. before 1955; Stack’s sale of the Amon G. Carter, Jr.
Family Collection, January 1984, lot 539; Stack’s sale of November
2008, lot 4178, via Richard Burdick.
Est. $50,000-$60,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 129
1827 Bass Dannreuther-1. Ravity-S. Mint State-65 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Quarter Eagles
Irreplaceable 1827 Quarter Eagle
From the Bareford Collection
{2x photo)
Lot 2052. 1827 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-5. Mint State-65 (PCGS).
collect only the finest specimens . . . and am not interested in any
coin that is not perfect. ”
— Harold S. Bareford to dealer Paul Seitz, April 1947
Another eye-catching gem Capped Bust quarter eagle from
the D. Brent Pogue Collection, a rarity everywhere in the world
of numismatics save for between the covers of the present sale
catalog. A tiny golden cyclone of satiny luster spins over both
sides, frosty and bright. The warm golden surfaces show tinges
of coppery toning, beautifully original and displaying ideal
aesthetic appeal. A short batch of adjustment marks was not
entirely obliterated at the central obverse, where Liberty’s ear
curl appears a bit flat, but nearly all other details are as crisp
as intended by the coiner. The left side of the shield is not
entirely defined, as almost always seen. A small group of contact
points in the upper left obverse field are joined by a few others,
including one near the bust truncation, an abrasion under IT
of UNITED, and another under US of PLURIBUS. This coin
likely looked little different the day it left the Mint, though
its color is probably more beautiful and rich in complexity
than it was then. Die finish lines, most vertically oriented, are
apparent, most obvious near the tip of the eagle’s beak where
some remnants of an earlier clash remain.
An extraordinary property, atypical against the backdrop
of quarter eagles of this design type but perfectly in line with
the demanding connoisseurship of Harold Shaw Bareford and
D. Brent Pogue. The only 1827 quarter eagle that has ever
been mentioned in the same breath as this one is the Amon
Carter specimen, sold in our January 1984 sale (and, again, in
Auction ’89) with splendid “russet-orange toning.” It had been
dispossessed of that color by the time it appeared again, graded
MS-65 (NGC) in the ANR auction of June 2007 and our sale
ofjune 2012. This piece was termed “on par with, or better than,
the Carter example” when last sold in 1985, but this specimen
now stands out as clearly superior in terms of technical and
aesthetic considerations as well as originality. This is the only
example of the date graded finer than MS-64 by PCGS, and this
offering represents the very first opportunity modern collectors
have to acquire a PCGS-graded gem specimen.
Harold S. Bareford’s main collection of United States gold
coins was presented at auction by Stack’s in December 1978.
In the foreword, his son William J. Bareford pointed out that
“many collectors who today style themselves ‘condition freaks’
were twenty years behind my father in appreciating quality.” His
collection of US. gold coins was primarily built in a short period
after he returned from service in World War II, formed through
relationships with leading dealers and auction firms. In later
years, Bareford worked on cabinets of American silver coins and
English coins with equal vigor and attention to quality. His silver
pieces were presented in large part in the Stack’s sale of October
1981; in May 1984, his New Jersey coppers were sold in another
Stack’s auction. While the group of quarter eagles sold in the first
Bareford auction in 1978 began with the Classic Head type, his
earlier dates of this denomination were sold in May 1985. This
coin, acquired through the representation of David Akers at that
event, has been in the D. Brent Pogue Collection ever since.
PCGS Population: l,none finer.
Provenance: Hollinbeck Coin Company (Art and Paul Kagin),
by sale, December 1951; Harold Bareford Collection; Stack’s sale of
March 1985, lot 532, via David Akers.
Est. $125,000-$200,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 131
1829 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-4+. Mint State-65 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Quarter Eagles
Impressive Gem 1829 Quarter Eagle
Debut Year of the Small Diameter Type
{2x photo)
Lot 2053. 1829 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-4+. Mint State-65 (PCGS).
‘^[The] higher rims made possible more sculptured designs and
protected the devices, lettering, date, and fields from wear. ”
— John Dannreuther
Both fully reflective and possessed with superb cartwheel
luster, this is a resounding gem from the first year of the
modified William Kneass type. Consistent light yellow gold
surfaces show exceptional detail throughout. Modifications
to the peripheral design elements gave the denticles a
more consistent look, embraced by a raised rim around the
entire perimeter. Light hairlines are noted under a glass,
but no major marks. Scrutiny finds a light abrasion on the
truncation of the bust above the right side of the 8 in the
date and a pinpoint nick behind the eagle’s head, but nothing
larger than those picayune flaws. Early die state, as are nearly
all 1829 quarter eagles, as not enough were struck to fatigue
these dies. Some raised die finish lines remain apparent.
The repunching in the denominator of the reverse fraction
remains plain, showing portions of a mostly effaced 2 to the
distant left of the intact one.
A historically important rarity, the 1829 quarter eagle issue
was struck with a reduced diameter and an upset rim that
produced a distinctive appearance from early quarter eagle
types. While most past writers, following Breen, have insisted
that this difference stems from the innovation of a “close
collar,” the sort of collar die that remains in use today, other
researchers, including John Dannreuther, Brad Karoleff, and
Craig ShoUey, have shown that such collars had been used for
decades. The reeded edges on silver coinage starting with the
1792 half dimes, and the squared edges seen on copper coinage
beginning in 1816, come from a collar not entirely unlike the
one used in 1829. The appearance of broader and better defined
rims, first seen on dimes in 1828 and quarter eagles and half
eagles in 1829, neatly coincides with the introduction of the
new screw press made by Rush and Muhlenberg in late 1827.
John Dannreuther has posited that the timing of the new-
style rim is no coincidence, instead, the change was reliant
upon alterations made possible by the arrival of the new press.
William Kneass, hired as Mint engraver in 1824, was responsible
for these design changes, including the new motifs seen on
this short-lived type. The modifications performed by Kneass,
reducing the diameter while adding broader and better defined
rims, improved strike quality and wear characteristics, all while
striking up an attractive high relief portrait.
Though the 1 829 issue is known to have the lowest mintage
figure of this design type, it is not the rarest date today; that
honor would go to the 1834, the last of the Old Tenor type.
Only a few Proof 1829 quarter eagles are known. Though their
population was estimated by Akers at “eight to ten,” neither
NGC nor PCGS has ever certified a Proof of this date. The
only two Proofs confirmed by John Dannreuther are both in
institutional holdings (National Numismatic Collection and
the Harry Bass Core Collection, ex. Auction ’85). Circulation
strike gems like this are extremely rare, and only a single finer
specimen has ever been identified.
PCGS Population: 2, 1 finer (MS-67).
Provenance: Bowers and Merena’s Rarities Sale, January 1997 ,
lot 291; Stack’s sale of July 2008, lot 2331, via Larry Hanks.
Est. $100,000-$150,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 133
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Quarter Eagles
Gem 1830 Quarter Eagle Rarity
The Garrett Coin
(2x photo)
Lot 2054. 1830 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-4. Mint State-65 (PCGS).
Our gold coins are withdrawn from circulation, chiefly by the
operation of this erroneous proportion ” — Senator Nathan Sanford,
Report on the Current Coins, January 1830
Highly lustrous, satiny and with abundant cartwheel at one
angle, richly reflective at another. The surfaces are consistent
and appealing light yellow gold. Devices on both sides are
mostly well detailed, though some oft-seen softness is apparent
at the central obverse and a batch of adjustment lines has left the
left border of the shield predictably weak. Few contact marks
are apparent, seeing just a few in the lower right obverse field,
and a similarly low concentration of hairlines are seen. The
fields exhibit a somewhat textured appearance on both sides,
showing tiny depressions (sometimes termed planchet chips),
an as-struck condition that likely resulted from microscopic
detritus left on the die face from its fine pre-striking polishing.
These are most evident near star 1, below the arrow talon, and
behind the eagle s head. Both sides show strong aesthetic appeal
and technical merit, making this an ideal high grade example to
showcase this design type.
With an intrinsic gold content that surpassed their face value,
quarter eagles of the early 1830s were worth more dead than
alive, containing $2.67 worth of gold despite a face value of
roughly 7% less. Few depositors brought gold to the Philadelphia
Mint seeking quarter eagles, instead, most sought the larger half
eagles, of which more than 126,000 were coined this year, nearly
all of which were exported, mostly to England where they were
melted and the metal used to coin sovereigns. Quarter eagle
mintages were very low by comparison, with just 4,540 struck in
1830, probably mainly for congressmen. For depositors, gaining
the Mint s imprimatur made their gold easy to sell, certainly easier
in the form of a United States gold coin than unmarked scrap,
gold nuggets and dust unearthed from Southern gold mines,
clipped and worn Latin American gold, or any of the other forms
of gold that were frequently deposited at the Mint. Despite the
difference between the bullion value and face value, depositors
were not put in a position to lose money, as brokers and bankers
recognized the coins’ true market value. Senator Nathan Sanford,
chair of the Committee on Finance, addressed this issue in his
January 1830 Report on the Current Coins. The 15:1 ratio upon
which the weights of gold and silver coins had rested since 1792
was no longer current. By 1830, the market ratio was roughly
15.9:1. Sanford recognized that “the legal valuation of gold
being too low, and that of silver too high” resulted in gold coins
being melted or exported at their bullion value, but he hopefully
pointed out that “this subject is now under the examination by
the Secretary of the Treasury.” In 1834, legislation would finally
solve a problem that had endured for years.
The quarter eagles of this era that survived show little wear,
but mishandling these diminutive coins was common, a situation
exacerbated by the natural softness of gold and reflective fields
that tend to magnify defects. Gem examples are rare, certainly
numbering even fewer than the roster of MS-65 submissions that
show on the PCGS Population Report. Most expert estimates
suggest only three or four real gem quality examples of this date
exist, despite the certification figures. This offering represents the
very first time a PCGS MS-65 of this issue has ever appeared
at auction. This example, perhaps the finest known of this date,
has sold publicly just twice since the Statue of Liberty arrived
in New York Harbor. When it was acquired at auction in 1883
by T. Harrison Garrett, using the services of Baltimore dealer
Dr. George Massamore as an agent, it was described as “Fine
impression, nearly proof, uncirculated, scarce.”
PCGS Population: 6, none finer.
Publications: Akers, David. United States Gold Coins, An
Analysis of Auction Records, Volume II: Quarter Eagles 1796-1929.
Plated on page 25. Bowers, Q. David. The History of United States
Coinage, As Illustrated by the Garrett Collection, 1979, p. 546. Plated
on page 278.
Provenance: W Elliot Woodward’s sale of the William J. Jenks
Collection, June 1883, lot 656, via George Massamore ;T. Harrison Garrett
Collection; T. Harrison Garrett to Robert and John Work Garrett, by
descent, 1888; Robert Garrett interest to John Work Garrett, 191 9; transfer
completed 1921; John Work Garrett to the Johns Hopkins University, by
gift, 1942; Bowers and Ruddy’s sale of the Garrett Collection, March
1980, lot 749, to Martin Haber /NIAF; American Numismatic Rarities’
sale of A Gentleman’s Collection, June 2005, lot 1006.
Est. $50,000-$75,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 135
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Quarter Eagles
The Pristine Gem Garrett 1831 Quarter Eagle
Perhaps the Finest Known of the Entire Type
{2x photo)
Lot 2055. 1831 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-4. Mint State-67 (PCGS).
was very successful today, both in regard to the number of pieces
bought, and the low prices at which they were secured. ”
— George Mass amore to T. Harrison Garrett, fune 15, 1883
There are few names more revered in the numismatic
community than Garrett, and this coin serves as prime evidence
why The surfaces show the deep orange patina that is an
inimitable hallmark of old-time originality, resplendent with
satiny luster and whose color deepens to rust as it approaches
the rims. Bright and frosty, the satiny luster yields to reflectivity
under a direct light.The details are sharp, save for small regions at
the typically soft areas at precise center of both sides. The fields
are close to immaculate, with careful examination discovering
a short line beneath Liberty’s lips, an equally short horizontal
abrasion left of star 11, a solitary mark under E of AMERICA,
and precious little else. Even gem examples of this type are
often busy with minor hairlines or show a scattering of marks;
this example is a step above, a truly exceptional piece, and one
of the very finest survivors of the entire design type.
Gorgeous and glittering, enriched by a century-and-a-
half long provenance, this is a numismatic jewel. It shared
cabinets with the previous lot for a century or more, first in
the collection of William J. Jenks until 1883, then the Garrett
family and Johns Hopkins University from that point until its
sale in 1980. Its price in the Garrett sale — $125,000 — was
surpassed among quarter eagles by only the extremely rare
Proof 1834 Classic Head, a reflection of its magnificent quality.
In the Garrett catalog, this coin was termed “a gem piece, fully
Choice Brilliant Uncirculated, MS-65, with nearly fuU prooflike
surface, if not even finer.” A decade later, David Akers cataloged
this piece for Auction ’90 in effusive terms. “Not only is it the
finest 1831 $2 1/2 we have seen or heard of,” he wrote, “it is
also the finest example of the type we have seen, and thus is one
of those one-of-a-kind numismatic treasures that even the most
sophisticated collector or investor yearns to own.” His point
that “this piece would bear favorable comparison to virtually
any common date, superb quality Liberty $2 1/2 struck 70 years
later!” is not only accurate, but a perfect way to characterize this
coin’s spectacular surface quality.
While there are other high grade survivors from the tiny
mintage of 4,520 coins, none boasts this kind of color, this kind
of surface quality, and this kind ofpresence.The second best one
sold in the last several years is the Bass 11:272 specimen, offered
again in July 2005 and January 2008. Its most recent offering
represents the sole appearance of an 1831 quarter eagle graded
finer than MS-65 by PCGS. This is one of just two PCGS MS-
67 coins graded of this design type. The other, dated 1829, last
sold nearly a decade ago in August 2006. This piece has been in
the D. Brent Pogue Collection since it was acquired in 1990, a
quarter century ago.
PCGS Population: 1, none finer.
Publications: Akers, David. United States Gold Goins, An
Analysis of Auction Records, Volume II: Quarter Eagles 1796-1929.
Plated on page 25. Bowers, Q. David. The History of United States
Goinage,As Illustrated by the Garrett Gollection, 1979,p. 546. Plated
on page 278.
Provenance: W. Elliot Woodward’s sale of the William f.
fenks Gollection, June 1883, lot 657, via George Massamore; T.
Harrison Garrett Gollection; T. Harrison Garrett to Robert and
John Work Garrett, by descent, 1888; Robert Garrett interest to
John Work Garrett, 1919; transfer completed 1921; John Work
Garrett to the Johns Hopkins University, by gift, 1942; Bowers
and Ruddy’s sale of the Garrett Gollection, March 1980, lot 750,
to Robert Emmer; David W Akers, Inc.’s session of Auction ’90,
August 1990, lot 1838.
Est. $200,000-$300,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 137
1833 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-3. Mint State-66+ (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Quarter Eagles
The Finest Mint State 1833 Quarter Eagle
A Spectacular Example of the Type
(2x photo)
Lot 2056. 1833 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-5. Mint State-66+ (PCGS).
‘^Before 1834, our coinage of gold was of little benefit except to purify
and prepare the bullion for exportation and for the use of foreign
mints. ” — Report of the Secretary of the Treasury on the State
of the Finances, Derem^)er 6, 1836
A satiny treat, this quarter eagle shows rich marigold yellow
across its surfaces with some warmer color around the devices.
Frosty and free of significant distractions, both sides show an
exceptionally fresh appearance devoid of the usual array of fine
marks and hairlines. A single tiny dig above the eagle’s head is
the only point noticeable under usual magnification. The details
are strong, locally soft at the ear curl at central obverse and at
the upper left side of the shield, but abundantly crisp elsewhere.
A high wire rim surrounds both sides. Fine raised lines on
Liberty’s chin, engraving remnants that would have been in the
deepest part of the die face, are apparent. The U of UNITED is
boldly repunched. The reverse die introduced in 1830 was used
for all 1833 quarter eagles, and it would continue in use until
this design type was replaced.
This unimpeachable gem has few rivals for the honors
of finest known of this date, standing among the very best
examples of the entire design type. PCGS has certified a single
Proof strike of this issue, the Eliasberg coin (PCGS Proof-66),
with others held by the National Numismatic Collection and
the Harry Bass Core Collection. The PCGS Population Report
reflects two certifications at the MS-66 level, one of which may
represent a duplicate entry of this coin, and the other of which
represents the coin offered in the next lot. The only previous
offerings of a PCGS-certified 1833 quarter eagle better than
MS-63 are of the PCGS MS-65 Harry Bass coin, sold in Bass
II as lot 273 and again in the March 2004 Bowers and Merena
sale. No other example of this date graded MS-65 or finer by
either service has ever sold at public auction.
This was the first quarter eagle issue of the Second
Philadelphia Mint, whose cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1829,
and whose presses were running early in 1833. As with the
other years of the 1829 to 1834 design type, just one die pair
was sufficient to execute the entire year’s mintage. In 1833,
4,160 pieces were coined, almost precisely equal to the mintage
average over the six years this design lasted. Despite this typical
output, David Akers pointed out “except for the extremely rare
1834, the 1833 is the rarest date of this type.” The point Akers
made 40 years ago remains true today, bolstered by the PCGS
Population Report data that reflects fewer 1833 quarter eagles
graded (37 total submissions) than any other date of the type,
save 1834.
Obsolete the instant it was struck, this coin somehow avoided
the fate that consumed the majority of coins of its vintage.
Either melted at home or exported as bullion, the quarter eagles
of Kneass’ short-lived design were vestiges of a gold to silver
ratio that had changed immensely since 1792 and a legislative
framework that was too slow to change. Few collectors pursued
American coins in the 1830s, and fewer still saved gold, which
makes the preservation of this piece all the more extraordinary.
For any examples of this issue to survive is astounding, but to
see one survive in such perfect condition is enough to inspire
paroxysms of numismatic delight.
PCGS Population: l,none finer.
Provenance: Goldberg Coins and Collectibles’ sale of the Bradley
Bloch Collection, September 1999, lot 1669; Superior Galleries’ sale
of March 2000, lot 122; Superior Galleries’ American Numismatic
Association Convention sale, August 2002, lot 1900.
Est. $150,000-$200,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 139
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Quarter Eagles
The James A. Stack 1833 Half Eagle
A Duplicate Only Pogue Could Own
(2x photo)
Lot 2057. 1833 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-5. Mint State-66 (PCGS).
“Karer in all grades than 1 829-32; much rarer UNC. ”
— Walter Breen
An unparalleled second opportunity to acquire a superb gem
1833 quarter eagle. The appearance of this coin is significantly
different from the previous specimen, struck from an earlier
die state that imparted profound reflectivity. A corona of frost
outlines Liberty’s profile and surrounds the eagle on the reverse.
Despite the prooflike surfaces, both sides show impressive
cartwheel, making this coin particularly flashy no matter the
angle of the light. The strike is better than typical, with the
ear curl somewhat rounded if not fully
struck up, and the corner upper left
outline of the shield defined even as the
wing details just outside of it remain
soft. No substantial marks or lines are
seen, though some positively trivial
lines are seen in the fields. Magnified
scrutiny finds a light scattering of
natural planchet chips on both sides,
and a natural depression is seen above
83 of the date. The raised die lines seen
on the portrait and the recutting of U
in UNITED are both readily evident.
With two of the best three
examples known for this date offered
in consecutive lots, specimens of
this quality may momentarily seem
common. Of course, they are not. As
many Mint State 1833 quarter eagles
are included in this sale as were sold in
the entire 1950s and 1960s, combined.
No decade of the 20th century has
seen as many gem specimens sell as
are included here; indeed, the number of extant gems of this
issue is precariously close to the number offered in this sale:
two. This piece has been offered just once since the 1940s,
when James A. Stack, Sr. was busily assembling his world-class
collection of high quality American coins. An active buyer at
the auctions “of such outstanding collections as those formed
by Neil, Atwater, Dunham, Hall, and Colonel Green,” according
to the preface of the 1994 catalog that included this coin. Stack
may have acquired this from B. Max Mehl’s sale of the Will W.
Neil collection. Offered in 1947, the Neil auction included an
1833 quarter eagle described as “Semi-proof. Struck with raised
borders. Rare so choice. Superior to
the Atwater specimen.” The lot was
unplated, but this description better
matches the present specimen than
any other high grade 1833 quarter
eagle sold during the brief period
that James A. Stack, Sr. was active in
the marketplace. Passed to his son and
eventually sold at auction in 1994, this
coin has traded exclusively by private
transaction ever since.
PCGS Population: 2, 1 finer
(MS-66+).
Provenance: James A. Stack, Sr.
Collection, before 1949; James A. Stack,
Jr., by descent; Stack’s sale of the James A.
Stack, Sr. Collection, October 1994, lot
849; Silvano DiCenova to the Great Lakes
Collection; Larry Hanks, by sale, 2000.
Est. $125,000-$175,000
In November 1833, a tremendous Leonid meteor
storm was experienced over much of eastern North
America. It was estimated that over 240,000
meteors rained down during the nine hours of the
storm. (1889 engraving by Adolf Vollmy)
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 141
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Quarter Eagles
Gem Mint State New Tenor 1834 Quarter Eagle
Debut of the Classic Head Design
(2x photo)
Lot 2058. 1834 McCloskey-1. Small Head. Mint State-65 (PCGS).
The progress of our gold coinage is creditable to the officers of the
Mint, and promises in a short period to furnish the country with a
sound and portable currency. ”
— Andrew Jackson, Message to Congress, December 1, 1834
A splendid example, with bold yellow gold surfaces that
show translucent pastel blue just inside the rims. Thoroughly
lustrous and natural in appearance, the fields are somewhat
reflective but still show strong cartwheel. Some scattered light
lines are noted, but no heavy marks or distractions. A short
scratch behind the lower curls parallel to star 12 is hardly
notable. The strike is very sound despite softness above the ear
and along the line of the rolled curls above the brow. A tiny
natural planchet chip is noted above star 1.
Struck according to the precepts of the Act of June 28,
1834, this is one of the finest survivors of the first “new tenor”
gold coinage. By diminishing the weight standard for a new
quarter eagle to “fifty-eight grains pure gold, and sixty-four and
a half grains of standard (i.e. alloyed) gold,” the quarter eagle s
intrinsic value in gold was, at last, the same as the value of two
and a half dollars in American silver coins. It had been decades
since gold and silver coins could circulate on equal footing, an
imbalance that forced gold coins into a non-circulating role
while American commerce was conducted with paper money,
U.S. silver coins, and mostly worn-out foreign silver coins.
The mintage of 1834 new tenor quarter eagles was 27 times
greater than the mintage of 1833 old tenor quarter eagles, but
rather than being exported or serving as bullion deposits in
banks, the new coins actually circulated. Newspapers across the
country excitedly reported seeing the new coins for the first time,
publishing updates on mintage figures and hopeful editorials on
what the “Gold Coinage Act” would mean for the American
economy. Referred to by some as “Jackson Gold,” the new tenor
coins started appearing beyond Philadelphia in the late summer
of 1834. Throughout autumn, more than $200,000 worth of gold
coins were struck per week, consisting entirely of quarter eagles
and half eagles, while the citizenry worried that too much of
it was going to the banks and not enough into the pockets of
common folk. Of course, the Mint delivered coined gold to those
who deposited gold for coining, and most depositors were banks.
Much of the gold deposited by the banks was pre-1834 products
of the United States Mint, for which the Mint paid a premium,
guaranteeing the rarity of those coins for modern collectors.
“Old coinage, now in existence, will pass thus ... the quarter eagle,
$2.66 3/4, this being the true value of the pure gold,” reported
The Knickerbocker: Or, New York Monthly Magazine as new tenor
gold coins started to appear in New York in August 1834.
The die varieties of Classic Head gold coins are today
known by numbers assigned by John W. McCloskey, whose
attributions for Classic Head half eagles were published in the
proceedings of the American Numismatic Society’s Coinage of
the Americas Conference in 1989. His work on quarter eagles
remains largely unpublished. This die, one of just two used for
the entire 1834 new tenor quarter eagle coinage, was produced
with an obverse hub Walter Breen called the “Small Head.”The
other die is seen in the following lot.
PCGS Population: 4, 3 finer (MS-66 finest). (All 1834
varieties)
Provenance: John Albanese to Scott Travers, by sale; private
collector; StacNs sale of the Dr. Tory Prestera Collection, June 2007,
lot 1638; Stack’s 7 3rd Anniversary sale, October 2008, lot 1 152, via
Larry Hanks.
Est. $40,000-$50,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 143
w
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Quarter Eagles
The Oliver Jung Gem 1834 Quarter Eagle
Clapp’s “Booby Head”
(2x photo)
Lot 2059. 1834 McCloskey-2. Large Head. Mint State-65+ (PCGS).
‘^The Engraver has been ordered to execute new dies, omitting the
motto ...” — Mint Director Samuel Moore to Secretary of the
Treasury Levi Woodbury, July 9, 1834
Magnificent satiny luster exudes from both surfaces, the
obverse dually enriched by cartwheel and light reflectivity. The
yellow gold color is an ideal shade, enlivened by pale dapplings
of light blue, largely confined to the periphery on the reverse.
The strike is far sharper than usual for this type, with good
detail even on the usually amorphous brow and ear curls.
The aesthetic impact is excellent, finer than even the grade
would suggest, with a superb lively appearance and very few
disturbances. Two tiny nicks inside of star 11 are seen, along
with a scattering of meaningless short lines, but none attracts
the eye. A tiny raised speck between the base of U of UNITED
and the nearest olive leaf is little more than a beauty
mark that indicates originality
Though neither of the major new
tenor 1834 quarter eagle types may be
considered rare in most grades, this is the
less commonly encountered of the two.
Both, of course, are very rare in gem
Mint State, and two other die varieties
using this obverse are elusive and
sought out by specialists. Breen called
this variety the Large Head, but it is also
referred to as the “Booby Head,” “this
... sobriquet apparently being awarded
it by John H. Clapp,” according to Breen. Engraver William
Kneass is the likely author of the device hubs for both obverse
dies, purposefully made with a design that could be readily
distinguished from the pieces old tenor type. The motto “E
Pluribus Unum” was omitted from the reverse for the same
purpose. Some discussions were held within the Treasury
Department in the summer of 1834 proposing to modify the
designs by adding the start date of the new coinage, August
1, 1834. While the suggestion was never executed. North
Carolina minter Christopher Bechtler followed developments
in gold coinage carefully, adding “August 1, 1834” to certain
of his issues struck after that date and reducing their weight
in keeping with the federal standards.
As the new gold issues were eagerly sought by the general
public, few remained in top grade. Even though coins in lower
Mint State grades regularly transact among collectors
today, true gems almost never do. No example of
this date graded finer than MS-65 (PCGS) has
ever sold at auction.
PCGS Population: 2, 1 finer (MS-
66). (All 1834 varieties)
Provenance: Oliver Jung Collection;
American Numismatic Rarities’ sale of the
Oliver Jung Collection, July 2004, lot 87.
Est. $40,000-$50,000
Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton (nicknamed
‘‘Old Bullion”) and certain of his fellow legislators
insisted on receiving their salaries in gold coins.
Benton spearheaded the movement to reduce the
authorized weights of gold coins, an effort that
resulted in the Coinage Act of June 28, 1834.
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 145
1835 McCloskey-3. Mint State- 65 + (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Quarter Eagles
The Finest Certified 1835 Quarter Eagle
A Deceptively Elusive Issue
(2x photo)
Lot 2060. 1835 McCloskey-3. Mint State-65+ (PCGS).
present the only gold coin upon which we can rely to supply the
place of small bills is the quarter eagle, and of these the amount,
as yet, is very limited. ”
— The Evening Post, New York City, February 6, 1835
Incredible satiny luster glides around both obverse and reverse,
enlivening rich yellow gold fields highlighted in pale rose. The
fields display an extraordinary level of freshness, a quality rarely
seen on this type. A light abrasion inside of star 12 in the lower
right obverse field is the only notable mark. Somewhat softly
struck at centers, with little detail in the ear curl, though some die
rust is stiU apparent on the portrait. A gorgeous example whose
surface quality will be recognized by connoisseurs.
Three die marriages are known for 1835 quarter eagles. Die
state information suggests that some of the mintage delivered
in 1835 may have been dated 1834, a supposition supported by
the relative rarity of the two dates in the marketplace. While
the published mintage of 1834 is lower than that of 1835, the
latter date is far scarcer, particularly in high grades. David Akers
discussed this in his auction record analysis, writing “the auction
records clearly indicate (and experience confirms it) that the
1835 is significantly more difficult to obtain in high grades.”
Today, PCGS Population Report data indicates the availability
of the dates isn’t even close: embracing all grade levels, more
than 700 submissions of 1834 quarter eagles have been certified,
while the number for 1835 quarter eagles remains under 200.
Grades above MS-63 have been given to more than ten times as
many 1834 Classic Head quarter eagles than their 1835-dated
counterparts. None, however, have ever been graded as high or
higher than this specimen.
PCGS Population: l,none finer.
Provenance: Bowers and Merena’s Rarities sale, September
2002, lot 449; American Numismatic Rarities’ Classics Sale, January
2004, lot 399.
Est. $50,000-$75,000
On January 30, 1835, Richard Lawrence tried to assassinate President
Andrew Jackson in the United States Capitol, the first assassination
attempt against a president of the United States.
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 147
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Quarter Eagles
A Beautiful 1836 Quarter Eagle from the Bass Collection
Lester Merkin: “The Finest We Have Seen”
(2x photo)
Lot 2061. 1836 McCloskey-2. Script 8. Mint State-65+ (PCGS).
‘^The numismatic knowledge he assembled and shared with all will
always be his legacy to the hobby ”
— Harvey Stack, on Harry W Bass, Jr.
A beauty, engulfed in satiny luster, mellowed to deep golden
yellow, highlighted with exceptionally attractive coppery
toning. The surfaces are pristine, completely free of contact
marks and showing remarkably few lines. Those few that are
present are of no importance, leaving surfaces that truly look as
though they were just minted. The central obverse definition
is soft, a marked contrast with the beautifully struck periphery
and wire rim. Supremely attractive and technically choice, the
sort of specimen that makes collectors who already own high
grade examples jump at the chance to upgrade.
As described in the 2000 Bass IV catalog, “The present
example is a very early die state with a faint crack from star 6
to the headband, continuing to the right field, almost to star 12.
This crack is usually much heavier with small lumps between
star 6 and the forehead.” Specimens such as this, showing
interesting or unusual die states, were avidly sought by Harry
W. Bass, Jr., unquestionably the most passionate collector and
student of the early United States gold series that numismatics
has ever seen. The core of his collection remains intact, housed
and displayed in a custom vault at the American Numismatic
Association Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The
rest was sold in four major auctions, three of them containing
nothing but gold coins, presented by Bowers and Merena in
1999 and 2000. Collectors of today are able to acquire gold
coins that were unseen for decades while in the Bass Collection,
which was mostly formed between the mid-1960s and mid
1990s. While in the Bass Collection, these gold coins were
the subject of extensive study, comparison, and organization,
revealing die varieties, die states, and emission sequences that
had been scarcely studied before. While many collectors view
their coins as trophies or works of art, each one was a textbook
to Harry Bass.
This variety shows the so-called Head of 1835, an obverse
hub that was likely among the first executed by Christian
Gobrecht after his hiring as a full-time engraver in August 1835.
Already a highly regarded engraver in Philadelphia, the seat of
the American metalworking industry, Gobrecht ’s salary upon
being hired was higher than that of his putative boss, the stroke-
incapacitated William Kneass. Within a few years, Gobrecht
would redesign every American denomination, and today his
designs are favorites among collectors.
Tied with one other as the finest certified by PCGS, this
specimen was called “by far the finest we have seen” in 1970
by Lester Merkin, who continued to write that this piece
“outclasses the usually offered ‘Uncirculated’ run of this design
by many points.” In the 15 years since this coin last sold, not
another coin certified as MS-65 by PCGS has been offered at
public auction.
PCGS Population: 2, none finer. (Script 8)
Provenance: Lester Merkin’s sale of April 1970, lot 655; Harry
W Bass, Jr. Collection; Bowers and Merena’s sale of the Harry W Bass,
Jr. Collection, Part IV, November 2000, lot 120.
Est. $40,000-$50,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 149
1836 McCloskey-2. Script 8. Mint State-65+ (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Quarter Eagles
Another Gem 1836 Quarter Eagle
Tied for Finest at PCGS
(2x photo)
Lot 2062. 1836 McCloskey-2. Script 8. Mint State-65+ (PCGS).
^‘They are to he delivered out from the lips as beautiful coins
newly issued from the mint, deeply and accurately impressed,
perfectly finished, neatly struck by the proper organs, distinct, in
due time, and of due weight. ” — The American Orator’s
Own Book, or the Art of Extemporaneous Public
Speaking, on syllables, 1836
Another fine example from these dies, struck from a later
die state, now cracked from the rim through the two left points
of star 6, across the portrait and the ribbon end, to the rim
between stars 12 and 13. The dies have been polished, leaving
this example nicely reflective. The polishing effort truncated the
tresses behind Liberty, leaving space between the curls where
there was none before, and leaving her mouth agape. The
broken die has sunken centrally, producing little detail in the
curl above Liberty’s ear. This piece is pleasing and lustrous, light
yellow and lively with deeper coppery toning inside the right
obverse rim. A very appealing coin, particularly so to specialists
in this short but fascinating design type.
On its own, this coin would receive abundant plaudits as
the finest certified of the issue, an extraordinary example of a
date that is practically unknown in gem Mint State. Only the D.
Brent Pogue Collection could contain both of the top-graded
examples of a coin such as this. Only three 1836 quarter eagles
have been graded finer than MS-65 by PCGS. All three are in
this collection.
PCGS Population: 2, none finer (Script 8)
Provenance: Richard Burdick, by sale, January 2009.
Est. $40,000-$50,000
In 1836 two different style numeral 8s were used on quarter eagles,
the Script 8 (top, lot 2062) and the Block 8 (bottom, lot 2063)
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 1 5 1
1836 McCloskey-6. Block 8. Mint State-66 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Quarter Eagles
Extraordinary Bareford-Bass 1836 Quarter Eagle
Head of 1837
{2x photo)
Lot 2063. 1836 McCloskey-6. Block 8. Mint State-66 (PCGS).
‘^Measures have been taken recently, and are now in progress, for
introducing improvements in the processes and machinery of the Mint
by which it is believed that the efficiency of the establishment may be
much increased. Heretofore the milling and coining have been done
exclusively by human labor. New machines are nearly completed by
which these operations will be executed with steam power. ”
— The National Calendar, and Annals of the United States for
MDCCCXXXVI, Volume 14, printed by Peter Force, 1836
Glittering and satiny, showing ideal yellow gold surfaces
draped in luster and surrounded by attractive tones of deeper
gold at the rims. The bright, fresh fields are barely affected by
scattered contact marks, none worthy of individual attention,
the whole of them overwhelmed by the superb aesthetic appeal.
The strike is better than usual, with some detail in the ear curl
and a firm border at the left side of the shield. Unimpeachably
beautiful, its ranking among the very finest specimens of the
date is secure.
The Philadelphia Mint was amidst an era of great
technological advances in 1836, led by chief coiner Franklin
Peale, a gifted mechanic who was the son of the famed
painter Charles Willson Peale. Following an extended tour of
European minting facilities, Peale returned to Philadelphia
to help establish a steam-powered coining facility, using
the sort of equipment that had already been commonplace
in Europe for decades. Based upon the presses and power
plants Peale saw, but using his own clever designs, the Mint
began producing coins by steam power in March 1836. By
the end of the year, the largest and most difficult to strike
denominations, silver half dollars and dollars, were being
coined through steam power. As the 1836-dated pattern
gold dollars were among the first to be produced by steam
power, the similarly small quarter eagles may have followed
soon thereafter, or they may have waited until the spring of
1837. A letter referencing the date of the first steam coinage
of quarter eagles may exist in the Mint Archives, awaiting the
arrival of a curious and patient researcher.
Described as “brilliant Uncirculated and a gem” in our 1978
Bareford sale, Harry Bass recognized the rarity of this coin in
such fine condition. It was the best one he ever encountered,
was the single finest ever seen by PCGS when offered in our
1999 Bass II sale (as PCGS MS-66), and remains the single
finest graded by them today Within the Classic Head series,
1834-1839, PCGS has graded just three coins as MS-66, one as
MS-66+, and one as MS-67. This is the only 1836 quarter eagle
of any variety graded MS-66 or finer.
PCGS Population: l,none finer.
Provenance: An unknown Ira Reed auction, ca. 1936-46, lot
652; Harold Bareford Collection; Stack’s sale of the Harold Bareford
Collection, December 1978, lot 80; Harry W Bass, fr. Collection;
Bowers and Merena’s sale of the Harry W Bass,fr. Collection, Part II,
October 1999, lot 291 .
Est. $60,000-$90,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
153
1837 McCloskey-1. Mint State-65 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Quarter Eagles
Satiny Gem 1837 Quarter Eagle
The First .900 Fine United States Gold Coin
(2x photo)
Lot 2064. 1837 McCloskey-1. Mint State-65 (PCGS).
^^The government ... decided in January 1837 to place the fineness
of the coins, both gold and silver, upon the French basis - nine-tenths;
consequently since that date thefneness of our gold coins has been
900 thousandths, the weight being the same as before. ”
— James Ross Snowden, A Description of Ancient and
Modern Coins in the Cabinet Collection at the
Mint of the United States, 1860.
A fitting match for the other gem Classic Head quarter
eagles in the D. Brent Pogue Collection, similarly steeped in
satiny luster and boasting exceptionally frosty light yellow gold
surfaces. Nicely struck for the issue, with detail in Liberty’s
brow and ear curls and good definition at the left side of the
shield. Minor marks are seen, but only a short scratch under
STATES is worth noting. Just a beautiful example, with a look
that is better than expected at this grade level.
This coin represents an unappreciated first in American
coinage history: the first American gold issue struck at the .900
standard of fineness that would persist even to the present day.
Along with half eagles of this year, the quarter eagles of 1837
were struck to the specifications of the Mint Act of January 18,
1837, which spared the melting and refining department of the
Mint the trouble of producing gold coins that were .899225
fine, the unusual fineness demanded by the Mint Act of 1834.
The 1837 Mint legislation represented the largest wholesale
change to United States coining regulations since the founding
act of 1792, redefining roles inside the Mint, changing the
weights of silver coins, and establishing a bullion fund that let
the Mint better control the output of gold coins without being
at the whims and mercy of its depositors. Though little known
today, the Act of 1837 revolutionized the way the United States
Mint conducted its business.
Fewer 1837 quarter eagles have been certified by PCGS
than any other Philadelphia Mint issue of the Classic Head type.
The only example graded finer than this one is the Harry Bass
coin, sold as lot 305 in our Bass II sale of 1999. Its appearance
16 years ago remains the only time a PCGS MS-65 has ever
sold at auction.
PCGS Population: 1, 1 finer (MS-65 +).
Provenance: Heritage’s American Numismatic Association
Convention sale, August 2004, lot 7164; Heritage’s sale of June
2008, lot 1804, via Larry Hanks.
Est. $25,000-$35,000
The Panic of 1837 was afnancial crisis in the United States, which
led to a major recession that lasted into the 1840s. Many cartoons of
the era blamed the crisis on Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren.
un^LC %Mm SICK ^ith la tqiPHt.
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 155
1838 McCloskey-1. Mint State-67 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Quarter Eagles
The Incomparable Harry Bass 1838 Quarter Eagle
Finest Known of the Date
(2x photo)
Lot 2065. 1838 McCloskey-1. Mint State-67 (PCGS).
the above quantity, 7,200 pieces were in eagles; 286,588 pieces
were in half eagles; and 47,030 pieces were in quarter eagles. Of the
bullion deposited, there was supplied from the mines of the United
States: At Philadelphia, $171,700; Charlotte, $127,000; Dahlonega,
$135, 700; New Orleans, $700. Total native bullion: $435,100. ”
— Robert M. Patterson, Report of the Director of the Mint,
showing the Operations of that institution during the year 1838.
A spectacular way to end to this run of Philadelphia Mint
quarter eagles from the D. Brent Pogue Collection, this is the
single finest example of the entire design type graded by PCGS
and the lone specimen at the MS-67 grade. This pristine gem
shows immaculate fields free of all but the most inconsequential
of disturbances, without a single mark that registers on any
standard of significance. But for a few of the most modest
possible interruptions of the frost on Liberty’s cheek, this could
be graded still higher. The surfaces swim with luster, satiny
and deep, and the devices stand out with thick frost. The light
yellow gold shade is not just beautiful, but a precise peek into
how coins of this design type must have looked as they fell from
the dies. The strike is solid, with good central detail and only a
trivial area of weakness at the upper left of the shield. Choose
your favorite superlative, then find its synonym, and apply both
liberally, as this coin can stand up to any standard of excellence
a collector could apply. This is Pogue quality.
Representing another historic first in American
numismatics, 1838 was the first year United States gold coins
were struck outside of the Philadelphia Mint. The long-
simmering gold rushes of the South had focused on western
North Carolina and northern Georgia but also incorporated
parts of South Carolina,Tennessee, Alabama, and evenVirginia.
The difficulty of transporting gold from the American South
to the Mint in Philadelphia had led to the founding of branch
mints in the mining regions of Georgia, at Dahlonega, and
North Carolina, at Charlotte. Despite the establishment of the
branch mints, abundant American-mined metal still found its
way to Philadelphia, and the Report of the Director of the
Mint reflected that $435,100 worth of gold from American
ore was coined at the four operating United States Mints in
1838. The first delivery of quarter eagles for the year arrived
on May 3 of that year.
This is unquestionably the finest surviving example of this
date. No Proofs are known in private hands or institutional
collections. The extraordinary Eliasberg coin, later offered in
Auction ’88, was last seen graded MS-65 (NGC) in 2012.
Called “Extremely Rare” in choice Uncirculated by Walter
Breen, this issue has seen just six submissions graded above MS-
63 by PCGS. No other Classic Head quarter eagle of any date
or mint has ever been graded MS-67, making this the ultimate
example for a type-collecting connoisseur.
PCGS Population: 1, none finer.
Provenance: fohn N. Rowe, III, by sale, October 1966; Harry
W Bass, Jr. Collection; Bowers and Merena’s sale of the Harry W Bass,
Jr. Collection, Part II, October 1999, lot 306.
Est. $75,000-$125,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 157
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Quarter Eagles
The Judge Gaskill 1839-C Quarter Eagle
Gold Coins of the Charlotte Mint Plate Coin
(2x photo)
Lot 2066. 1839-C McCloskey-3. Winter 3-C. Mint State-62 (PCGS).
‘It is extremely rare in full Mint State. ” — Doug Winter
Equal parts fascinating and beautiful, one of the finest known
examples of this Charlotte Mint issue. Rich citrus yellow gold
surfaces incorporate areas of pale green and champagne gold,
lending exceptional aesthetic appeal. The luster is good for the
grade, strongest inside the high wire rims. Many tiny scattered
surface marks are present, but none are serious on their own
and the surfaces maintain good lively originality. The obverse
die is shattered, bisected from star 2 through Liberty’s chin and
portrait to star 9. Another crack meets that one at central obverse,
descending through the boldly re cut 3 in the date and on to the
rim. The reverse die has fared little better, cracked from the rim
above A of STATES, along the right side of that letter through
the beak, the upper left corner of the shield, along the left side
of the 2 in the denomination to the rim. Another crack joins
that one, traveling just above the top of the wing at left. The
heavy cracks on both sides have had some effect on the central
striking detail, but most design elements look surprisingly crisp.
The aesthetic appeal far surpasses most Charlotte Mint quarter
eagles of this type in any grade, and the originality of this piece
makes it rank especially high.
The United States Branch Mint at Charlotte, then a town
of just over 1,000 people, was established by Act of Congress
on March 3, 1835. Its doors opened in December 1837, and
small numbers of quarter eagles and half eagles were struck
in 1838. Though the mint at Charlotte had been established
to take advantage of the fertile gold mines of western North
Carolina and the neighboring states (mines that had enabled
the private Bechtler mint in Rutherfordton, North Carolina
to strike over $1,000,000 in gold coins in 1835) relatively
little locally mined gold showed up after the Mint opened
its doors. Mint Director Robert Maskell Patterson reported
in January 1837 that “the deposits of gold within the year
have amounted, in round numbers, to $4,084,000 ... [but]
the bullion derived from the mines of the United States was
but $467,000.” He attributed the low proportion of locally
mined gold deposits to “the exhaustion of surface and deposit
mines, and the very profitable employment of labor in raising
cotton at the present prices.” Nonetheless, mining resumed
after the lull of 1837, deposits picked up in 1838, and coins
were produced. The local Charlotte Journal reported in March
1838 that “there is no mistake now, for we have both seen and
handled the yellow boys. The appearance of the coin is very
neat, and much resembles the coin issued in 1834, with the
exception of the letter C under the head to distinguish the
coin of the different branches.”
The standard reference on the gold coins of the Charlotte
Mint, written by Doug Winter, lists this as the third finest of all
1839-C quarter eagles and the very finest survivor of the Recut
9 variety. This obverse, with clear repunching on the date, is
paired with a reverse previously used at Charlotte in 1838. Two
other varieties are known, both quite scarce and using the same
1839/8 obverse. Winter comments that “the surfaces on nearly
all examples” of this variety “show extensive circulation marks,”
and that all varieties of this date are “hard to locate with good
eye appeal.”
No example in the Winter Condition Census has a longer
verified provenance than this specimen. Winter has ranked this
coin as the finest known of the Recut Date die variety and the
third finest known of the issue.
PCGS Population: 3, none finer.
Publications: Winter, Doug. Gold Coins of the Charlotte
Mint 1838-1861, 1998, p. 72, 75. Depicted on page 72.
Provenance: Judge Thomas L. Gaskill Collection; New
Netherlands Coin Company’s 48th sale, November 1956, lot 215;
Dr. Alfred Globus Collection; Stack’s sale of June 1994, lot 5 67; Doug
Winter, by sale; Paul Dingier Collection; Heritage’s sale of February
2009, lot 2431, via Richard Burdick.
Est. $20,000-$30,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 159
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Quarter Eagles
The Magnificent Bass 1839-D Quarter Eagle
Tied for Finest Known
(2x photo)
Lot 2067. 1839-D McCloskey-2. Winter 1-B. Mint State-64 (PCGS).
^^The workmanship of the Mint edifice is abominable . . . put into
brick by men who certainly deserve diplomas for botching. ”
— Franklin Peak to Robert M. Patterson, on the Dahlonega Mint,
November 25, 1837
One of the most beautiful extant examples of the sole
Dahlonega Mint Classic Head quarter eagle issue, this coin
shows lustrous orange yellow gold surfaces embracing splashes
of pale violet and light yellow in the fields. Good cartwheel is
present on both sides, especially bold on the reverse. The strike
is solid, showing some of the typical central weakness but still
finely detailed elsewhere. A scattering of marks is found under
scrutiny, along with a little patch of lines on Liberty’s cheek,
none enough to limit the fine aesthetic appeal. The 9 of the
date is either lightly recut, filled, or both; this variety was long
termed an overdate, but it is not. The reverse die is cracked,
from the rim above 9:00 to the bases of all letters of UNITED,
from rim to the wingtip at left, and from the rim through the
second T of STATES into the upper reverse field. One of the
finest survivors of the entire issue, a stellar way to represent our
Georgia mint in any collection of quarter eagles.
The Georgia Gold Rush.
While the mines of northern Georgia were highly profitable
for several years after the first large-scale discovery in 1828,
finds and profits had dwindled by the time the branch mint was
founded in the seat of Georgia’s Lumpkin County, the town of
Dahlonega. The mint’s construction was beset by a variety of
delays, including lack of skilled mechanics and contractors, poor
access to roads or navigable waterways, and difficulty finding
dependable water sources for the mint’s steam engines. While
the mint’s operations got underway early enough in 1838 to
strike off more than 20,000 half eagles, no quarter eagles were
struck until 1839, making this a particularly historic issue.
David Akers called this issue “the rarest date of this type
in grades better than EE” Doug Winter has estimated a total
survivorship in all Mint State grades at just six to eight pieces, a
total that suggests the PCGS Population Report data has been
inflated by resubmissions of examples in lower Mint State grades.
PCGS lists three submissions that have earned the MS-64 grade,
but those figures represent just two coins: this specimen and
the James A. Stack coin. The Stack example realized a stunning
$55,000 when sold uncertified in 1994, and last sold in our
January 2013 sale. While the James A. Stack example topped the
Condition Census at the time ofWinter’s 1997 work, this Bass-
Pogue coin had not been seen at that point for nearly 30 years,
and reasonable people could disagree about which is finer. This
example is finer than the Duke’s Creek 1839-D (NGC MS-64),
the second Bass coin, and other claimants to the crown.
PCGS Population: 3, none finer.
Provenance: Lester Merkin^s sale of April 1970, lot 658; Harry
W Bass, Jr. Gollection; Bowers and MerenTs sale of the Harry W Bass,
Jr. Gollection, Part II, October 1999, lot 314; Richard Burdick, by sale,
November 2007.
Est. $40,000-$60,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 161
1839-0 McCloskey-2. Winter-l. Mint State-65 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Quarter Eagles
The Finest Known 1839-0 Quarter Eagle
The Akers Plate Coin
{2x photo)
Lot 2068. 1839-0 McCloskey-2. Winter- 1. Mint State-65 (PCGS).
^‘The primary consideration behind the establishment of the New
Orleans Mint was an incoming flow of coins, and not of bullion. ”
— Dr. Richard Doty
The only gem 1839-0 quarter eagle known, this coin is
blessed with superlative aesthetic appeal. The deep even yellow
gold surfaces flood with luster at every angle, frosty and satiny,
beautiful to behold. Both obverse and reverse are free of any
major impact marks, showing just a short scratch in the field
next to star 12 and some light wispy lines besides. A splash of
deeper orange toning is present at the bust truncation. The
strike is excellent, showing central details that few coins of
this issue can rival. The reverse shows a fascinating crack that
runs along I of UNITED before branching out, its main stream
through the olive leaves and 2 in the denomination to the rim,
a rivulet connecting the base of I to TED.
Founded by the same document that led to the establishment
of branch mints in the backwater mining districts of western
North Carolina and northern Georgia, the New Orleans Mint
had a different character from the beginning. New Orleans
mined not ore, but commerce, and the mint’s bullion came not
from nuggets and dust, but from the coins that poured into the
port city from Latin America (especially Mexico), Europe, and
beyond. In 1842, the assayers of the Philadelphia Mint, Jacob
R. Eckfeldt and William E. DuBois, penned A Manual of Gold
and Silver Coins of All Nations, a text that became a road map
for some of America’s earliest coin collectors. They describe the
nature of the first three branch mints therein: “Two of these
were for the coinage of gold only, and were to be situated at
the towns of Charlotte in North Carolina, and Dahlonega in
Georgia - central points of the gold mining region. The third
branch was for both gold and silver, and located at New Orleans,
the commercial emporium of the southwest.” Eckfeldt and
DuBois report that, from the time the flywheels on its presses
first started spinning until the end of 1841, the New Orleans
Mint coined over $1.5 million worth of silver coins but just
$326,190 worth of gold, far less than the mints at Charlotte and
Dahlonega over the same interval. When the melter and refiner
of the New Orleans Mint, John L. Riddell, wrote his own book
in 1845, he focused entirely upon the sorts of silver coins he
encountered in bullion deposits, both counterfeit and authentic.
That gold coins were not mentioned at all suggests that they
were a comparative afterthought. History supports this, as New
Orleans was known at the time as the American gateway to
Mexico and Latin America, lands that sent thousands of tons of
generally low quality silver coins into the world market every
year but, at this point, relatively little gold.
Just 17,781 quarter eagles were struck in New Orleans
in 1839. It was a small initial output, but the Mint added
half eagles in 1840 and eagles in 1841. As a town built on
commerce. New Orleans placed its gold coins into circulation
immediately, and quarter eagles from the New Orleans Mint
are found well worn more often than specimens of this
denomination from any other mint. While some examples of
this issue survive in high grades, likely put away by the New
Orleans citizenry as souvenirs of the new mint, this is the only
gem. Described as “the finest” by David Akers, who chose this
coin to illustrate the 1839-0 quarter eagle in his book, this is
the single best preserved specimen, an unsurpassable example.
As the only Classic Head issue of the New Orleans Mint, it
is a one-year type coin, adding a special layer of desirability
to its historic importance as the first gold issue from our
southernmost mint.
PCGS Population: 1, none finer.
Publications: Akers, David. United States Gold Coins: An
Analysis of Auction Records, Volume II, Quarter Eagles 1796-1929,
1975, page 42.
Provenance: Max Humbert Collection; Paramount’s session of
Auction ’79,fuly 1979, lot 227; Paul Nugget, by sale, July 2003.
Est. $50,000-$75,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 163
UNITED STATES HALF EAGLES 1795-1807
Welcome to our presentation of 1795 to 1807-dated
half eagles from the D. Brent Pogue Collection. Complete
with all collectible Guide Book-listed varieties, the
following pages again have the finest of the fine, the rarest
of the rare. Of all American denominations from the
half cent to the double eagle, the $5 gold coin series has
more major rarities than any other, and by far. Coming
attractions in future sales include a gem 1815, the only
1822 in private hands, and other treasures.
After the establishment of the Philadelphia Mint in
1792, no gold coins were struck until the summer of 1795,
by which time the copper and silver denominations had
been inaugurated, save for the quarter dollar. The absence
of gold was due to surety requirements, as noted under
silver dollars above, not to any lack of desire or ability on
the part of the Mint officials and staff.
Around May of 1795, David Rittenhouse, director of
the Mint since its inception, assigned engraver Robert
Scot to produce half eagle dies. Rittenhouse left the Mint
at the end of June and was replaced by Henry William
DeSaussure, who ordered that gold coin production
should begin. On July 31st, 744 half eagles were delivered,
followed by subsequent amounts through September
totaling 8,707 pieces for the year. The Mint was over-
optimistic as to the number of 1795-dated obverses that
might be used, with the result that dies with this date were
kept on hand and used as late as 1798!
The first design was what collectors today designate as
the Draped Bust obverse (perhaps better called Conical
Cap or Turban Head), Small Eagle reverse style. The same
design was used on the $10 gold eagle. The diameter of
about 1”, equal to 25.4 millimeters, remained in effect
from 1795 through part of 1829.
The coinage of 8,707 half eagles with the 1795 date
was accomplished by using numerous dies, including
at least nine reverses with the small eagle motif alone.
Throughout the next several decades, interesting die
varieties were produced, including overdates, recut letters,
and differences in size and position. The Small Eagle
reverse style was continued through early 1798, the last
year being a classic rarity.
In 1797, the new Heraldic Eagle reverse design was
created, featuring an eagle with wings symmetrically
spread and with a shield on its breast, stars and clouds
above, and holding in its talons arrows and a branch,
adapted from the Great Seal of the United States. In
numismatic nomenclature this has also been called the
Spread Eagle design (in certain 19th century catalogs) and
the Large Eagle. The motif was not new to gold coinage,
as it had been used on the quarter eagle in 1796.
From 1798 through 1807, coinage of the Heraldic Eagle
reverse style was continued. Many different die varieties
were produced, including several overdates. In the pages to
follow we present the fmest-ever sale of this series.
Early Half Eagle Types 1795-1807
Draped Bust Right — Small Eagle
1795-1798
Draped Bust Right — Heraldic Eagle
1795-1807
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 165
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
The Remarkable Garrett 1795 Half Eagle
A Long Treasured Example of the First U.S. Gold Coin
Lot 2069. 1795 Bass Dannreuther-3. Rarity-3+. Small Eagle. Mint State-65 (PCGS).
Harrison Garrett, of Baltimore . . . though a comparatively young
collector, bids fair to rival Mr. Parmelee in the number and condition of
his rarities.” — New York Herald, Jw/y 19, 1885
A triumph of survival, cherished by advanced collectors for
nearly a century and a half of documented history and likely for
decades earlier, this coin pulses with vibrancy and originality
unheard of for this issue. The surfaces show an ideal, rich
patina, deep yellow gold that turns to coppery orange around
design elements, sparkled with hints of ice blue in areas of the
periphery. The luster is satiny and intense on both sides, rich
in a way rarely encountered on any 18th century U.S. gold
coin. There may be no aesthetically superior specimen of this
date extant anywhere, indeed, its equal is unlikely to exist. This
coin s look, beauty, and overall quality are simply unparalleled.
Careful examination finds some light marks, including a light
abrasion in the lower left obverse field right of stars 3, 4, and 5,
along with some truly inconsequential hairlines. A tiny natural
inclusion is seen in Liberty’s cap below the highest lock, and
a thin lintmark is vertically oriented between the tops of the
letters of OF on the reverse. No significant signs of adjustment
are present, just the merest horizontal trace
hidden at precise center obverse, leaving
each fine detail able to be seen, studied,
and enjoyed. A fine die crack or mislaid
engraver line on the chest of the eagle,
arcing above and then stretching below
the centering dot, is rarely seen, but is
sharp to its full extent here. Evidence of
a die clash is seen on the obverse, among
Liberty’s shoulder drapery between the
two principal locks and behind her head
parallel to the base of her cap. Light
lapping lines are detected at her throat,
stronger ones above ED of UNITED on
the reverse, a few other individual lines
near the periphery elsewhere. A short, fine
die crack extends from the rim to star 12
and barely into the field beyond. This state
is equivalent to Bass state c, though the
line to E appears to be a deep lapping line.
not a die crack.
This is the single best preserved and most beautiful
example of the first American gold issue, a national treasure
whose importance echoes beyond the confines of the world
of numismatics. United States gold coinage was first called for
in Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on Coinage, written in the spring
of 1784, but the necessity of a stable American currency based
upon specie had been evident for decades. George Washington,
then a retired general and Virginia planter, told Congressman
William Grayson in August 1785 “Mr. Jefferson’s ideas upon
this subject are plain and simple ...Without a Coinage, ... a
Man must travel with a pair of money scales in his pocket, or
run the risk of receiving gold at one fourth more by count
than weight.” While working class citizens of the infant United
States may have rarely encountered gold coins, the merchant
and planter classes depended upon them. These were the men
who enshrined in Article I, Section 10 of the United States
Constitution that no state may “make any thing but gold and
silver coin a tender in payment of debts.”
Whereas Jefferson’s plan defined just one gold coin, the ten
dollar piece called an “eagle,” it was the Resolution of Congress
of August 8, 1786, which first established
“that there shall be two gold coins ... one
containing one hundred and twenty-
three grains, and one hundred and
thirty-four thousands of a grain of fine
gold, equal to five dollars, to be stamped
in like manner, and to be called a Half-
Eagle.” By the time the Mint Act of April
2, 1792 was codified, the weight of the
half eagle had increased slightly (to 135
grains of “standard” or alloyed gold), and
a quarter eagle valued at $2.50 had also
been conceived and defined. Still, United
States gold coinage remained nothing but
a concept. It was the very end of 1792
before the Mint was finally more than
words on paper, having evolved into brick
and mortar buildings in Philadelphia, full
of noisy machinery and hard-working
people. Nearly two years after that, regular
Portrait of Thomas Jefferson by Charles
Willson Peak. Original portrait painted in
1791 when Jefferson was Secretary of State.
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 167
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II
production of precious metal coinage
was begun. Dollars and half dollars of
1794 were the first silver coins struck
since the initial “small beginning,”
1792 half dismes. And yet, by the
end of 1794, fully two years after the
Philadelphia Mint was a full-scale
operation, gold remained in the future.
When that future became the
present, this coin is what it looked like.
No other extant example of America’s
first gold coinage has survived so fine.
The praises of this coin have been
sung by experienced numismatists for
140 years. J. Colvin Randall, this coin’s
first owner of record, had a legendary
eye for quality. When Llarold P. Newlin
wrote to T. Ldarrison Garrett to offer
his representation services at the
auction of the Randall collection in
May 1885, he assured Garrett “when
Woodward’s catalog of the Randall
Collection comes out, you will have
an opportunity of adding some gems
to your cabinet. I have already examined the pieces most
carefully and I will be able to give you a fair idea of the value
of any you may want.” Newlin would attend the sale personally,
bidding anonymously for the Baltimore rail magnate. W. Elliot
Woodward described 1,749 lots for the Randall sale, to be held
over a three day period starting June 29, 1885. While many lots
received basic descriptions including little more than the date
and denomination of the lot offered, lot 866 received a bit more
attention: “1795 No. 4. Mr Randall calls this piece a gem, and
values this piece at $25. It is a very beautiful proof.”
Six days before the sale was to begin, Llarold P. Newlin
wrote to T. Llarrison Garrett from his office at 1807 Pine
Street in Philadelphia, recommending bids on more than 70
lots. On lot 866, Newlin advised a bid of $30, with the added
comment that this coin was “a beauty” with “beauty” vigorously
underscored three times. Though several coins on his list were
more expensive, no others garnered such excited commentary.
Newlin ’s recommended bid was right on the money: the lot
hammered to him, on Garrett’s behalf, at $30. One of the first
die variety experts and a pioneering proponent of focusing on
gem quality}. Colvin Randall collected this coin when it was
less than 90 years old. He could have acquired it as early as
the late 1850s, when his interest in rare coins blossomed along
with a generation of now legendary
American numismatists. Sold to
Garrett in 1885, it would remain in the
same cabinet for nearly a century. This
incredible continuity of ownership is
rarely encountered, save for coins with
the legendary Garrett provenance.
This unbroken continuum has
ensured the preservation of this coin’s
exceptional surface originality, an asset
perhaps even more important than its
remarkable grade.
In the modern era, this piece
continues to be the standard of quality
for this famous issue. David Akers,
cataloging a choice Mint State 1795
half eagle in 1988, remarked “We know
of only one slightly finer 1795 $5 than
this one, the Garrett specimen now in
the Mack Pogue Collection.” Walter
Breen chose this coin to illustrate his
Complete Encyclopedia. None who
attended the first Garrett sale of 1979
have forgotten seeing this piece in the
35 years since passed.This is a crown jewel of not just the D. Brent
Pogue collection of early half eagles, but all surviving specimens
of this avidly collected and historically vital denomination.
PCGS Population: 3, none finer. (1795 Small Eagle)
Publications: Bowers, Q. David. The History of United States
Coinage As Illustrated by the Garrett Collection, 1979. Depicted
on Color Plate 30. Breen, Walter. Walter BreeUs Complete
Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Coins, 1988, page 513.
Depicted on page 513.
Provenance: J. Colvin Randall Collection ;W Elliot Woodward’s
sale of the Numismatic Cabinet of Mr. f. Colvin Randall of
Philadelphia, June 1885, lot 866, via Harold P. Newlin; T. Harrison
Garrett Collection; T. Harrison Garrett to Robert and John Work
Garrett, by descent, 1888; Robert Garrett interest to John Work
Garrett, 1919; transfer completed 1921; John Work Garrett to The
Johns Hopkins University, by gift, 1942; Bowers and Ruddy’s sale of
the Garrett Collection, Part I, November 1979, lot 433; Bill Mitkoff
to Anthony Terranova; Paramount (David Akers), by sale, April 1986.
Est. $350,000-$450,000
168 STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
The Mint in 1795
R.W. Julian, one of the leading numismatic scholars of the late 20th and early 21st centuries,
contributed “The Mint Investigation of 1795,” to the Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine, July
1961. The information is from the report given by Mint Director Elias Boudinot to the
Committee appointed to examine the state of the Mint, sent to the House of Representatives,
February 9, 1795, including the following listing of physical items. By this time silver dollars
had been made (in October 1794) on an inadequately-sized press. Gold coins would not be
made until the summer of 1795:
2nd. The present state and progress of the works. The houses are built on three lots of ground, in
Seventh street, between Market and Arch streets, the fee simple of which is vested in the United States,
and one in the Northern Liberties, taken by the Director, on a lease for five years, at the trifling rent of
five shillings per annum.
The works consist of two rolling machines, one for hot and the other for cold metal, worked by
four horses, and require five hands constantly to attend them, while in operation. There is a third, nearly
completed, to be appropriated to the smaller coinage. A drawing machine for the purpose of equalizing
the strips for cutting the planchets, and are worked by the same hands as are last mentioned. Three
cutting presses for the planchets of larger and smaller coins, which are worked by one man each. A
milling machine, which is intended to be worked by the horse mill, but, at present, requires one hand.
Three coining presses, with the improvement for supplying and discharging themselves by machinery.
Six hands will attend three, if in one room. A fourth, for dollars and medals, in particular, will be finished
in about three months. Two turning lathes for dies, and a boring machine for making holes in the large
frames, screws for presses, stakes, rollers, and an infinite variety of instruments and tools, necessary to
carry on the coinage. There are, besides three annealing and one boiling furnace, with two forges, the
assay, melting and refining furnaces.
The net produce of these works, from the establishment of the Mint to this time, consists of one
million and eighty-seven thousand five hundred cents, paid into the Treasury of the United States,
equal to ten thousand eight hundred and seventy-five dollars; in silver —
coins delivered, thirty-five thousand one hundred and sixty-five dollars.
Sketch of the First Philadelphia Mint by George Osborn.
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 169
1795 Bass Dannreuther-6. Rarity-5. Small Eagle. Mint State-63+ (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
Splendid Choice Mint State 1795 Half Eagle
D over S Variety
Lot 2070. 1795 Bass Dannreuther-6. Rarity-5. Small Eagle. Mint State-63+ (PCGS).
“GOLD COINAGE. About 8000 Half Eagles (Value Five
dollars) have been issued from the mint of the United States. They are
finely executed. LIBERTY is represented by a female head, in which
the finest touches of the graver, display the most perfect symmetry of
feature, animated with the truly beneficent expression of a deity. ”
— The Independent Gazette, Philadelphia, October 31, 1795
Light yellow gold surfaces showcase impressive prooflike
fields and sharply struck devices, surrounding hints of deeper
yellow and translucent blue toning at the peripheries. The
character of the luster is mostly reflective, brightly so, though
some satiny cartwheel is present on the reverse. The devices are
well detailed from centers to the rims, unaffected by adjustment
marks. Some vestiges of adjustment are present between the
tip of Liberty’s cap and the rim beyond, while those where
the portrait bust is now prominent are incredibly subtle and
seen only after painstaking examination. A bit of foreign
matter clung to the die below Liberty’s chin, leaving a small
area unstruck and revealing the natural pre-striking planchet
texture below. Scattered marks are seen in the fields, small but
made evident by the field reflectivity, including a thin vertical
scratch in the lower right obverse field, a finer curved scratch
above the left side of the reverse olive branch, a short scrape
under C of AMERICA, and scattered minor contact points and
hairlines elsewhere. Some fine planchet chips are seen in the
right obverse field, another below star 9. A trace of microscopic
foreign matter, harmless and nearly invisible, is present right of
the 5 of the date and around star 13. A curved lintmark is present
under the intersection of the bases of AM of AMERICA.
The D. Brent Pogue specimen is among the finest survivors
from this famous and scarce die marriage. The lettering of the
reverse legend, punched by hand, was erroneously accomplished
by the die sinker. It’s easy to imagine an employee of the
Philadelphia Mint carefully punching the letters of UNITED,
following it with STATE, but after hammering home aT punch
and an E punch, losing his place, and continuing with a D
punch as he did when rendering the word UNITED. Realizing
his mistake, the correct S was placed over the errant D, leaving
collectors with the best known of the 1795 half eagle error-
die varieties. While the mistake is easy to see on even worn
coins, it is nowhere better showcased than on this example. The
underletter, partially effaced, is clear, as are the lapping lines
from the denticles above. Other lapping lines, called “spikes and
spurs” in the Bass-Dannreuther reference, are evident elsewhere
around the reverse periphery, including a particularly long one
between OF and AMERICA, between IC of AMERICA, and
above the upright of D in UNITED On the obverse, these
sorts of peripheral lapping lines are seen above L, I, R, and Y
of LIBERTY, below the 5, and elsewhere. The central obverse
shows two centering dots, with a fine die crack connecting the
right dot to ear curl. This appears to be struck from an unlapped
(other than the initial correction to the punching error) state of
the die, thus Bass-Dannreuther state a.
Robert Scot accomplished the first half eagle master dies in
the spring of 1795. The first 744 half eagles struck in the United
States Mint were delivered to the Treasurer of the Mint by the
coiner on July 31, 1795. By the final delivery of half eagles that
year, handed over on September 16, a total of 8,707 examples
of the first issue of five-dollar gold pieces had been coined.
Judging by the review of the design published six weeks later in
Philadelphia’s Independent Gazette, they were a hit.
As further evidence of their popularity, a substantial
number of 1795 half eagles were saved at the time. However,
as John Dannreuther points out, “the high estimates of the
known survivors of the 12 Small Eagle varieties [of 1795]
added together are only slightly more than 600 specimens.” A
healthy percentage of those have seen use as jewelry (including,
according to family legend, the very first one struck, retained
by Mint Director Henry DeSaussure but turned into a ring
by a granddaughter). Very few have survived in Choice Mint
State, making auction offerings of pieces of this quality
marquee events.
PCGS Population: 1, 7 finer (MS-65 finest). (1795 Small
Eagle)
Provenance: Oliver fung Collection; American Numismatic
RaritiesUale of the Oliver Jung Collection, July 2004, lot 90.
Est. $150,000-$200,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 171
1796/5 Bass Dannreuther-1. Ranty-4+. Mint State-62+ (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
One of the Finest 1796/5 Half Eagles Extant
The R.E. “Ted” Naftzger Coin
Lot 2071. 1796/5 Bass Dannreuther-l. Rarity-4+. Mint State-62+ (PCGS).
‘^There is only one known variety of the half eagle of 1 196. ”
— Edgar H. Adams, “Half Eagles and Their Die Varieties,” The
Coin Collector’s Journal, November 1934
Bright yellow gold surfaces are chiefly reflective with some
peripheral cartwheel on the obverse, satiny and lustrous with
some reflectivity on the reverse. Superb sharpness and aesthetic
appeal for this issue, the only die marriage of the year and one
that rarely survived in high grades. The devices are sharp and the
overdate is easily seen under low magnification; no magnification
is required to see the ball of the 5, which still remains uneffaced.
A glass reveals some granular planchet texture visible in the
usually-soft region of the central obverse. Under proper light,
more shallow granularity becomes apparent in the upper left
obverse field and beneath LIBERTY. Some very light evidence
of adjustment marks is seen near stars 14 and 15. While some
hairlines are seen, very few contact marks are present, none on
the obverse worth noting and the reverse shows only a shallow
vertical abrasion from the second leaf to the rim at the base of
that side and a thin curved hairline under the wing at right.
Some gentle lapping is visible at the central reverse, most notable
between the eagle’s legs, equivalent to Bass-Dannreuther reverse
state b, the same state as the Harry Bass Core Collection coin.
This is one of a small, august group of Mint State 1796/5 half
eagles known, all struck from the only dies made with a 1796
date. PCGS has certified a Mint State coin on five occasions
(and rendered a circulated grade just 25 times, making for a total
population of almost precisely one-tenth that of the 1795 Small
Eagle). Interestingly, high grade 1796/5 half eagles, like grapes,
tend to sell in bunches. Auction ’82 included two high grade
examples, one as lot 924 and the other (this coin) as lot 1924.
The first was offered in our famous 1999 John Whitney Walter
Collection sale, where it was again one of two. In more recent
years, we were fortunate enough to offer fine specimens in both
2006 and 2008. Since those appearances, the finest example to
come to market was an NGC MS-62, sold in 201 1 . David Akers
remarked both in his 1979 auction analysis book and his 1981
fixed price list of the Naftzger Collection that only four or five
truly Uncirculated pieces are known. All parties agree that this
is among the nicest of them.
Though several earlier students of die varieties compiled
lists of variations they saw in the early gold series, including
J. Colvin Randall in the 19th century and the famous collector
Waldo Newcomer in the 20th, Edgar H. Adams appears to
have been the first numismatist to publish his study Adams’
work appeared in several issues ofWayte Raymond’s The Coin
Collector’s Journal in 1934. Walter Breen was the next to visit
the half eagles in print, relying heavily upon Adams’ earlier
(and highly dependable) work. Breen’s 1965 discussion of the
1796/5 half eagle yielded two important original thoughts:
this and the similar 1796/5 half dime represent “the earliest
true overdates in United States coinage” and with a “mintage
[of] 6,196 ... some coins dated 1795 might have been struck
during this year.” John Dannreuther has estimated that the true
mintage of 1796 half eagles is in the range of 1,057 to 2,000
pieces, representing just a fraction of the 6,196 delivered in that
calendar year. The rest were likely dated 1795.
PCGS Population: 1, 1 finer (MS-63).
Provenance: Paramount’s 1974 Eong Beach sale, lot 638;
Paramount’s Rare Coin & Stamp Eist No. 8, p. 35; R.E. “Ted”
Naftzger, Jr. Collection; Paramount’s 1981 fixed price list of the R.E.
Naftzger, Jr. Collection; Paramount’s session of Auction ’82, August
1982, lot 1924.
Est. $125,000-$200,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 173
1^'
^ fl
ISDi.
Lf 3i
1191 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-1. IS Stars. Small Eagle. Mint State-61 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
The Finest Known 1797 15 Stars Half Eagle
J.R Bell - R.L. Miles, Jr. - Ed Milas
Lot 2072. 1797 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-7. 15 Stars. Small Eagle. Mint State-61 (PCGS).
jack-ass, now in full perfection, will be let to mares at two dollars
and a half the single leap, five dollars for the season, or eight dollars to
ensure. The tractableness and size of the mules he is the sire of prove
him worthy of the attention. ” — The North Carolina Journal^
Halifax North Carolina, April 24, 1191
Exhibiting superlative aesthetic appeal for the assigned
grade, this is the sole Mint State example of this major variety
certified by PCGS. Both sides are fully lustrous and show lively,
flashy reflectivity in the fields. The surfaces are rich egg-yolk
yellow with deeper orange toning seen around the periphery,
particularly prominent on the reverse. The fields are somewhat
busy with light marks, fine scattered hairlines, and some tiny
planchet chips. The largest of the planchet chips, left by some
foreign matter on the die, are present behind the eagle s head and
beneath the wing at right. A thin, short scratch is hidden between
BE of LIBERTY, another beneath the wing tip on the right side
of the reverse. Adjustment marks are visible outside of the stars at
right obverse, extending as high as TY of LIBERTY, present but
better obliterated and barely visible around the date. The obverse
die crack, extending from the rim down the length of Liberty’s
cap, has caused the center of the obverse die to sink, reducing
definition at the extreme center of that side. The opposite area of
the reverse likewise shows some softness. A die crack spans the left
reverse field from the base of I of UNITED to the juncture of
the wing at left and the eagle’s body; it reappears under the wing
at right where the eagle’s secondary feathers and primary feathers
meet. This is Bass-Dannreuther reverse state b, identical to that of
the Harry Bass Core Collection coin.
This is the finest known example of the 1797 half eagle with
15 stars, representing two different die varieties, both of which are
rated Rarity-7 by Bass and Dannreuther. Neither of the retained
Harry Bass Core Collection coins are of this quality, and the finest
certified by NGC is graded MS-60. In his 1965 series on early
half eagles (published separately in 1966), Walter Breen noted
“Bell II 568 is claimed as Uncirculated; I have seen one other
(the same coin?) in this grade, but most known are in the VF to
EF range.” Of the 12 examples of the 15 Stars type certified by
PCGS, most are now in the EF to AU range, an evolution of the
grading standards from the era in which Breen wrote, but this
remains the only Mint State coin PCGS has ever certified.
J.F Bell was the pseudonym for a Chicago collector named
Jacob Shapiro. Shapiro had made an agreement with Abe
Kosoff to buy the entire gold coin collection of F.C.C. Boyd,
but eventually ended up instead buying a half share of the
collection and bidding heavily on Boyd’s gold coins in the 1946
“World’s Greatest Collection” sale. Kosoff lamented years later
in a 1967 Coin World column “Later, in 1948, we had a rough
period economically ... at this inopportune time. Bell decided
to sell.” The result was “A Memorable Collection,” where this
coin did not meet Shapiro’s reserve price. It reappeared in
mVRCOA’s 1963 J.F. Bell sale, selling to the famed Norfolk,
Virginia collector R.L. Miles, Jr., from whose 1968 collection
sale it entered the renowned set of half eagles assembled by
Ed Milas, a well regarded Chicago numismatist who was a
longtime principal of RARCOA.
Any Mint State 1797 half eagle is a coin of astounding rarity.
PCGS has recognized just two coins at the Mint State level,
encompassing all four major Small Eagle varieties combined.
That this piece combines such outstanding preservation with
strong visual appeal makes it truly special, a prime contender
for honors as finest known of the entire date.
PCGS Population: l,none finer. (1797 15 Stars)
Publications: Akers, David. United States Gold Coins: An
Analysis of Auction Records, Volume Ilj Half Eagles 1 195- 1 829,
1919, p. 5. Breen, Walter. Early United States Half Eagles 1195-
1838, 1966, pp. 13-14. Breen, Walter. Walter Breen’s Complete
Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Coins, 1988. Depicted
on page 514.
Provenance: Numismatic Gallery’s (Abe Kosoff and Abner
Kreisberg) sale of A Memorable Collection (Jacob Shapiro), March
1948, lot 288 (unsold); RARCOA’s sale of the J.F. Bell Jacob
Shapiro) Collection, April 1963, lot 568; R.E. Miles Collection;
Stack’s sale of the R.E. Miles, Jr. Collection, October 1968, lot 325;
Ed Milas Collection; RARCOA (Ed Milas), by sale, March 1986.
Estimate: $125,000 - $200,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 175
1191 Bass Dannreuther-3. Rarity-6. 16 Stars. Small Eagle. AU-58 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
Important 16 Stars 1797 Half Eagle Variety
From the Virgil Brand Collection
Lot 2073. 1797 Bass Dannreuther-3. Rarity-6. 16 Stars. Small Eagle. AU-58 (PCGS).
^^The nickels, dimes, and dollars for which the Americans are striving
daily will be used as the textbooks of history in coming generations. ”
— Virgil Brand, quoted in the Chicago Record-Herald^ 1910
The lightest imaginable wear has barely diminished strong
luster and bold reflectivity, but has added a kiss of fine coppery
tone to those areas that have been lightly worn, an attractive
contrast with the freshness of bright yellow gold seen elsewhere.
Well detailed and highly attractive, this coin shows scattered
tiny marks and fine lines that are consistent with the grade,
doing no harm to the aesthetic quality. A little cluster of marks is
noted between star 9 and the base of Liberty s cap, another light
grouping under ME of AMERICA. Lintmarks or impressions
from other foreign matter are seen on the reverse, above the
middle hump of the wing at left, beneath the eagle’s beak, and
under the junction of AM in AMERICA. No heavy adjustment
marks are seen, just the faintest vestige underlying the wingtip
at right and RI of AMERICA. A minuscule rim nick is hidden
far below the final A in AMERICA.
The reverse die is cracked, as always seen, later than Bass-
Dannreuther state b but earlier than state c. A fine crack runs
from the wing at right to the right side of the tail, then changes
direction to touch the left at right. A larger crack from the rim,
across two leaves and the olive branch, to the other side of the
leg at right appears to be unconnected. Another very fine crack
is barely visible from the place where the wing-tail crack meets
the tail, into the field toward the final A of AMERICA. In the
final state, Bass-Dannreuther state c, the die crack extends all
the way to A, as seen on both of the examples in the National
Numismatic Collection.
Historic, popular, and unabashedly rare, the design of the 16
Stars variety of 1797 half eagle evokes the June 1, 1796 statehood
of Tennessee. With 11 stars crowded to the left and five more
on the right, this obverse die represented the denouement of
each state receiving a star of recognition on the nation’s coinage.
The half eagles of 1798 returned to the 13 star arrangement,
symbolizing the original states whose representatives signed
the United States Constitution. The half eagles of 1797 are rare
enough that all varieties receive a great deal of attention, but the
16 Stars design is distinctive to this year, making it particularly
special and sought after. There are two Small Eagle varieties that
share this obverse: this one, and the unique Bass Dannreuther-4,
a coin that spent over a century in the Byron Reed Collection
before joining the Harry Bass Core Collection, where it remains.
This obverse was also married to a Heraldic Eagle reverse to
create another unique variety; once sold in our 1955 Parish
Baldenhofer auction, it found a permanent home among the
Lilly Collection coins in the National Numismatic Collection.
This may be the second finest survivor from these dies. The
MS-61 (PCGS) FCC Boyd - Memorable (1948) - J.E Bell
(1963) - R.L. Miles, Jr. (1968) coin, last sold in our August
2013 American Numismatic Association auction, is widely
considered the finest; it is the only coin graded Mint State by
PCGS. The retained Harry Bass coin is of similar quality, while
the duplicate sold in Bass II was last offered in 2004 certified
as MS-60 (NGC). It may be one of the coins on the PCGS
Population Report as AU-58 today Two additional examples
of this die marriage, one from the Mint Cabinet and one from
the Josiah K. Lilly Collection, are impounded in the National
Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.
Had Virgil Brand’s brothers, Horace and Armin Brand,
gotten their way, this example would be in the Smithsonian as
well. Their entreaties to the federal government to acquire the
more than 300,000 specimens in the Virgil Brand Collection
failed, and this piece remained with Horace until his death in
1962. Sold at auction in 1964, it long resided in the famous half
eagle collection of Ed Milas, alongside the 1797 15 Stars half
eagle offered in the previous lot.
PCGS Population: 3, 1 finer (MS-61). (1797 16 Stars)
Provenance: Numismatic Gallery’s (Abe Kosoff and Abner
Kreisberg) sale of A Memorable Collection (Jacob Shapiro), March
1948, lot 288 (unsold); RARCOA’s sale of the f.E Bell (Jacob
Shapiro) Collection, April 1963, lot 568; R.L. Miles Collection;
Stack’s sale of the R.L. Miles, fr. Collection, October 1968, lot 325;
Ed Milas Collection; RARCOA (Ed Milas), by sale, March 1986.
Estimate: $100,000 - $125,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 177
1798 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-7. Small Eagle. AU-SS (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
The King Farouk 1798 Small Eagle Half Eagle
One of the Famed Rarities of the Series
Finest of Six Known Specimens
Lot 2074. 1798 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-7. Small Eagle. AU-55 (PCGS).
''Paul Wittlingot a real buy, lot 229 for $1,800. The five pieces
included a 1798 half eagle, Small Eagle reverse variety — an
extremely rare item.” — Abe Kosoff,
"Farouk’s Gold Parades,” CoinWorld, November 2, 1977
Like Martha the passenger pigeon, the 1798 Small Eagle half
eagle was the last of its species, a lone final die marriage to use
the anachronistic first reverse type struck after the introduction
of its Heraldic Eagle replacement in 1797. It is one of the great
rarities in the entire series of American coins, perhaps somewhat
overlooked precisely because it is so rare. Just six examples are
known, of which only three remain outside of institutions and
able to be collected.
Bright reflective luster dominates the fields on both
sides, undimmed at the peripheries and around devices. The
incongruity of a 1798-dated obverse, or any obverse with 13
stars, matched with this ancient reverse makes for an enjoyable
in-hand examination. The usual array of fine marks and minor
hairlines show up against their reflective backdrop, none of
gross seriousness. A horizontal mark on Liberty’s cheek is
noted parallel to the base of the ear curl, noted alongside a
mark in the field left of star 4 and some light chatter left of
the reverse wreath. The reverse rim at the top of that side is
trivially rounded, perhaps natural or perhaps a minor abrasion.
A natural pit or depression abuts the left side of star 1 . Parallel
vestiges of adjustment are evident but not distracting in the left
obverse field.
Magnified scrutiny rewards the technically minded
numismatist, who will find the unusual arc die crack beneath
the date, likely following the path of an overzealously inscribed
guide line intended to help locate the denticles and other design
elements, extending to outside of stars 1 through 4 at one end
and beyond the 8 on the other. A similar artifact of the inartfully
accomplished inner circle is visible above RTY of LIBERTY.
Examination of the reverse will find heavily lapping manifesting
as design elements that are half missing, including a leaf atop the
wreath on the left side, a leaf on the olive branch, and the upper
right serif of I in AMERICA. This state, common to all known
examples, is called Bass-Dannreuther reverse state c.
Few half eagles can surpass the 1798 Small Eagle in terms
of its pure rarity The 1815 half eagle cannot, legendary though
it may be. Nor can any other major variety of the Draped Bust
half eagle series, save the unique 1797 Large Eagle, forever
impounded in the Smithsonian Institution and not widely
known except to specialists. It is only appropriate that the only
private collection anywhere that includes the 1822 and 1854-S
half eagles, the crown jewels of the denomination, would also
include the finest known specimen of the 1798 Small Eagle.
Three examples of this great rarity are impounded: the American
Numismatic Association houses the Clapp-Eliasberg coin in the
Harry Bass Core Collection, and the Smithsonian Institution
holds both the Parmelee coin from the Mint Cabinet and the
Ten Eyck-Col. E.H.R. Green-J.K. Lilly coin. That leaves an
equal number of specimens of this extraordinary rarity, just
three coins, remaining in private hands. Only two have been
certified by PCGS, of which this is by far the finer. The Earle-
Atwater coin, said to be untraced since 1946, is actually the
piece rediscovered by John Dannreuther in 1996 and sold by
Ira and Larry Goldberg in 2000. The Atwater plate is of little
use, but the Earle plate is crystal clear, clear enough to tell with
certainty that the reverse is that of the Dannreuther coin and
the image labeled as the obverse is actually the obverse of the
following lot, which happened to be struck from the same die.
The reverse identification is enough, however, to marry these
two broken provenance chains.
The 1798 Small Eagle half eagle once held the record for
the most valuable American coin, and perhaps the most valuable
coin of any origin, ever sold. When the Earle specimen realized
$3000 in June 1912, it made national headlines. The June 29,
1912 issue of The Sun in New York City trumpeted “$3,000
FOR A 1798 HALF EAGLE” on page 1, calling it “the gem
of the collection gathered by George H. Earle, Jr.” The article
also singled out the silver 1776 Continental dollar that sold
in the same session for $2,200. Small town newspapers across
Pennsylvania featured the story, along with dailies as diverse
as the Washington Herald in Washington DC. and the Seymour
Daily Republican of Seymour, Indiana.
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 179
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II
When this coin was offered in the 1955 Parish Baldenhofer
sale, it was the only coin depicted on the catalog cover. Selling for
$6,000, it brought nearly six times the price of an 1827 quarter
($1,050), twice as much as an 1838-0 half dollar ($3,200), and
more than three times as much as a prooflike Mint State 1797
half dollar ($1,750). An 1815 half eagle brought $3,000, while
a Proof 1804 Plain 4 eagle brought $2,500. The entire auction
yielded not quite $110,000, and this coin was the runaway star.
In recent years, few specimens of this variety have sold.
Many experienced collectors and dealers have never seen one,
and likely more than a few don’t even know such a coin exists.
Since this example sold in 1955, the last time it was offered
at public auction, this type has been sold just three times. The
Garrett coin sold in 1979 after having been off the market
since 1883. The Clapp -Eliasb erg specimen sold in 1982; it
was that coin’s only auction appearance. The Atwater example
sold in 2000, having failed to sell in an auction a year earlier
after being considered lost for more than a half century. These
appearances amount to just four opportunities to acquire a
specimen in the last 60 years, two of which were owed solely
to the serendipitous appearance of a multigenerational old-time
collection at auction. No 1798 Small Eagle half eagle has been
offered in the last 15 years.
While even connoisseurs can rarely be finicky with a rarity
such as this, the quality of this example is unmatched. No other
1798 Small Eagle $5, in public or private hands, surpasses this
one. It exceeds the only other PCGS-certified specimen by 15
points. The provenance is similarly august, though regal may be
the better term, having been in the collection of King Farouk
of Egypt. Farouk purchased this coin from Stack’s, and his
collection was sold by Sotheby’s. In some ways, this appearance
has brought it full circle. For decades, this coin was included
in the collection of Texan John LF. Murrell, the owner of what
Doug Winter has called “the greatest unknown collection of
U.S. gold coins ever assembled.” Now offered from the most
valuable collection of American coins ever formed, this great
American rarity is set to find a new and similarly impressive
home.
PCGS Population: 1, none finer. (1798 Small Eagle)
Publications: The Numismatist, April 1935, May 1935, and
June 1935. Breen, Walter. Early United States Half Eagles 1795-
1838, 1966, pp. 13-14. Akers, David. United States Gold Coins:
An Analysis of Auction Records, Volume Il{ Half Eagles 1795-1829,
1979, p. 7. Breen, Walter. Walter Breen’s Complete Encyclopedia
of United States and Colonial Coins, 1988, pp. 512-513. Bowers,
Q. David. The American Numismatic Association Centennial History,
1991, Volume 1, p. 515, 517, and 529. Dannreuther, John. “The
Ultra Rare 1798 Small Eagle Reverse Half Eagle.” PCGS
Market Report, August 15, 2000.
Provenance: Raymond Caldwell of Eancaster, Pennsylvania;
Col. James W Flanagan Collection, after 1935; Stack’s sale of
the Col. James W Flanagan Collection, March 1944, lot 1063;
Clifford T Weihman Collection; Stack’s, by sale, after 1946; King
Farouk of Egypt Collection; Sotheby & Co.’s sale of the Palace
Collections of Egypt, February 1954, lot 229, via Paul Wittlin;
William G. Baldenhofer Collection; Stack’s sale of the Parish
Baldenhofer Collection, January 1955, lot 1203 (at $6,000);
John H. Murrell Collection; Goliad Corporation (Mike Brownlee), by
sale, August 1979.
Estimate: $550,000 - $750,000
PUBLIC
AUCnON
SALE
Collection cf USlCo'Ihr
November 11-12
1^5
■a iw m Sh • Nrr T«1 ■. N. Y
180 STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
Reflections on the 1798 Small Eagle $5
Although the 1798 Small Eagle $5 is listed in the Guide Book and is well known to specialists, it is
“too rare” to have gained much publicity over the years. In contrast, the 1804 silver doUar, of which 15
are known, is famous as “The King of American Coins.”
Beyond being an extreme rarity the 1798 SmaU Eagle $5 has a fascinating history. In 1795 there was
great optimism that the mintage of gold coins would be extensive, as this was the first year of production
in that precious metal. Such mintage was dependent on the amount of gold bullion deposited and
the denominations requested. Anticipating a generous coinage, many dated obverse dies and undated
reverses were made. As it turned out, only 8,707 $5 coins were made in that year as deposits fell short.
The Mint was left with a generous supply of dies that were stiU serviceable. The particular die used
to coin the offered rarity was used in 1795, then put in a vault where it remained until 1798, at which
time it was employed with a new obverse with the 1798 year. The number of 1798 Small Eagle $5 coins
struck is not known, but considering its rarity today, probably not more than a few hundred were made.
RECORD P RICE FOR COIN
Half Eagle of 179E Brings $3000 at
Sale.
PbUadelphfa, June 29.— Tfco hlghejl
price ever j>Hrid for an American coin
and possibly ihc highest ever given
by a collector for a rare colo of any
pilntage. was |300l)» which Henr}' C-
Clmpmiin, of this city, paid Tor an
AmerkaD half-eagle which Is the g<-m
of the collection gathered by Oeorge
H. Earle. Jr.. of this city, and now be-
ing auctioned by Davis & Harvey, 910
Walnut street.
The Gettysburg Times, June 29, 1912 features a headline
announcing the new record price from the 1912 Earle sale.
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 1 8 1
1795 Bass Dannreuther-15. Rarity-5+. Heraldic Eagle. Mint State-64 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
Very Rare 1795 Heraldic Eagle Half Eagle
An Anachronism in Gold
Lot 2075. 1795 Bass Dannreuther-15. Rarity-5+. Heraldic Eagle. Mint State-64 (PCGS).
is of course well known that the coins with the large or heraldic
eagle are very rare. ” — Thomas Ollive Mahbott,
^^The Varieties of the Half Eagle of 1 795/^ Numismatic Review,
Stack’s, July 1944
Nicely lustrous light yellow gold surfaces show both cartwheel
and reflectivity, ringed in pale green-tinted gold at the peripheries.
Very sharp, with trivial softness noted at the extreme centers of
both sides. The process of turning over this 1795-dated coin and
finding a Heraldic Eagle reverse is a discordant treat, revealing
a reverse that is finely reflective in the fields but frosty over
the design elements. Light hairlines are seen, along with a little
jogging nick under TE of UNITED. A short apostrophe-shaped
lintmark is present right of star 6, while another is horizontally
oriented right of star 2. Genuine eflbrt is required to see the
extremely subtle adjustment marks oriented vertically in the soft
spot at the obverse center; no others are noted.
The die state is advanced, equivalent to Bass-Dannreuther’s
obverse state b and reverse state c. A thin die crack begins at the
rim above star 10 and zig-zags down the back of Liberty’s cap
and disappears into her hair. The reverse is spectacularly cracked
at its base, with arcs radiating out from the rim like rings around
a pebble in a pond. The largest arc crosses the eagle’s tail, barely
touching the arrow butts on one side, crossing A and C before
ending at the right top serif of I. Two other arc cracks stem from
that one, beginning in the middle of the eagle’s tail, the lower
one extending over the arrow shafts to the upper left serif of U
and the rim, the upper one crossing the talon and traversing the
left upright of N before connecting the tops of NITE. Other
cracks extend across RI of AMERICA on a diagonal before
stopping, mid-field, on the other side of the olive branch and
travel from the base of C to the eagle’s knuckle on its way to
the shield. The reverse cracks were caused by an extremely bold
die clash that has left the letters of LIBERTY impressed in that
area, suggesting that the die became loose from the press and
managed to forcefully impact the reverse die on an angle.
A numismatic exclave, disconnected from the 1795 Small
Eagle half eagles by time and design, this variety was coined in
either 1797 or 1798. Belying the date on the die, this obverse,
along with two other 1795-dated obverses, was put back into
use after the Heraldic Eagle reverse type debuted in 1797. While
these distinctions are meaningful to collectors today, they likely
meant little to the coiners then. With depositors expecting their
gold quickly returned in the form of new United States coins,
and government oversight encouraging efficiency and cost
control, using a serviceable but out-of-date die was evidently
preferable to creating a new die.
Though very rare as a major variety, three different die
marriages of the 1795 Large Eagle or Heraldic Eagle half
eagles exist. This die marriage is the most plentiful of them,
though the Dannreuther-Bass book estimates that just 30 to 35
examples are known. The other two 1795 Large Eagle varieties
share a reverse and both are extremely rare. BD-13 is known by
just a single surviving specimen, while BD-14 has a population
estimated at just 14 to 18 coins. The D. Brent Pogue coin is
undoubtedly the finest known of this variety, finer than the
specimen retained in the Bass Collection. The only other PCGS
MS-64 of the 1795 Large Eagle type is the James A. Stack coin,
struck from the more elusive BD-14 die marriage. It last sold in
our January 2003 Rarities Sale, the only auction appearance of
a PCGS-graded example certified finer than MS-62.
Illustrated as lot 1196 in our November 1955 Parish
Baldenhofer sale, this coin was actually cataloged as lot 1195.
Walter Breen points this out in his monograph Early United
States Half Eagles 1795-1838, (originally published in 1965 as a
series of articles in Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine), m^iking note
of “Baldenhofer 1195/96 (plates [were] transposed on these).”
The other 1795 Large Eagle piece from the Baldenhofer sale is
impounded in the Harry Bass Core Collection.
PCGS Population: 2, none finer. (1795 Large Eagle)
Publications: Breen, Walter. Early United States Half Eagles
1795-1838, 1966, p. 11.
Provenance: William Gustav Baldenhofer Collection; Stack’s
sale of the Farish Baldenhofer Collection, November 1 955, lot 1 1 95;
Kevin Eipton and Anthony Terranova; Paul Nugget, by sale. May
2001 .
Estimate: $200,000 - $300,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 183
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
TheJ.F Bell - Amon Carter 1797/5 Half Eagle
Finest Certified by PCGS
Lot 2076. 1797/5 Bass Daniireuther-7. Rarity-6+. Heraldic Eagle. Mint State-62+ (PCGS).
‘^Excessively rare in Unc. ” — Don Taxay, 1976
Deep yellow surfaces are enriched with coppery highlights
whose depths extend to rose and magenta on the reverse,
lending this coin extraordinary originality. Strong luster offers
both reflectivity and cartwheel. The strike is excellent, with the
centers ofboth sides showing nearly complete details. Some well-
hidden obverse adjustment marks run northwest to southeast,
visible at absolute center but nearly entirely obliterated in the
fields. One particularly deep stroke is seen running the length
of Liberty’s cap. On the reverse, the adjustment lines are a bit
more haphazard, visible at a few odd angles within the shield.
Subtle parallel lines are found running just left of vertical if the
central reverse is examined closely Light hairlines are noted, but
no heavy marks, just a little nick above the inner tip of star 14.
A few small lintmarks are seen on the reverse, including a short
curved mark below E of AMERICA, another inside C, and a
smaller one left of the lowest arrow head.
This specimen was struck from a nearly terminal die state
of the reverse die, later than most survivors and quite possibly
among the last struck before the die had passed its usefulness.
The first crack to appear ran from the rim through the two
right serifs of M in AMERICA to the underside of the wing
at right. That crack grew to become a semi-circle, crossing the
wing and arcing through the upper right serif of M in UNUM,
the two left points of star 15, the two right points of star 1 1 , the
two right points of star 7, over the cloud to the rim between
STATES and OE Another long crack crosses the right top of
the second T in STATES, the left two points of star 3, the right
two points of star 13, to the reverse center below the motto
ribbon. A further crack, not described by Bass and Dannreuther,
links the broad semicircle crack of the right obverse to the
center, crossing the right top point of the shield. A final crack is
hinted by the Bass-Dannreuther reference, an extension of the
crack running fromT to star 3 to star 13 that extends below the
central reverse, vertical and just left of the shield center, before
leaving the tail at the second feather from left and intersecting
the rim, making for a true bisector. The next step beyond
these cracks likely involved a piece of the die face falling away,
perhaps the semicircular piece at right, perhaps the entire left or
right side. Suffice it to say this die did not survive long beyond
this state, guaranteeing that this variety would always be a rarity
The overdate seen on this variety is one of the boldest in the
entire realm of American coinage, easily as plain as the 1942/1-
D dime, 1918/7-D nickel, 1918/7-S quarter, and other well-
known but comparatively common overdates. The 5 underdigit
has not been effaced at all, though the flag of the 7 lines up
precisely enough with the flag of the 5 to mask it.
Three die varieties of 1797 half eagle are known with the
Heraldic Eagle reverse. This is the only one that is not unique.
David Akers posited that 12 to 15 specimens were known, while
Dannreuther suggested 16 to 20 in all grades. Akers described
this coin as “either the first or second finest known example
of this extremely rare issue. (Its status as first or second best
depends on the quality of the Dunham [B. Max Mehl, 1941]
example, long thought finest ...).” The Dunham coin is a cypher;
its description of “Uncirculated, with brilliant mint luster; only
the faintest touch of cabinet friction” could easily describe a
coin that would today qualify as About Uncirculated, and its
photograph is useless. This example, the finer of just two Mint
State coins ever graded by PCGS, stands alone as finest known.
PCGS Population: l,none finer. (1797/5)
Publications: Akers, David. United States Gold Coins: An
Analysis of Auction Records, Volume IV, Half Eagles 1 195- 1 829,
1979, p. 7. Breen, Walter. Walter BreeUs Complete Encyclopedia of
United States and Colonial Coins, 1988, p. 516.
Provenance: f.E Bell (Jacob Shapiro) Collection; Stack’s sale
of the J.F. Bell Collection, December 1944, lot 312; Amon Carter,
Sr. Collection; Amon Carter, Jr., by descent, 1955; Stack’s sale of the
Amon G. Carter, Jr. Family Collection, January 1984, lot 640; David
W Akers, Inc.’s session of Auction ’8 8, July 1988, lot 890.
Estimate: $150,000 - $225,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 185
1798 Bass Dannreuther-2. Ranty-5. Large 8, 13-Star Reverse, Narrow Date
Heraldic Eagle. Mint State-63 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
Choice Mint State 1798 Large 8 Half Eagle
From the Garrett and Bass Collections
Lot 2077. 1798 Bass Dannreuther-2. Rarity-5. Large 8, 13-Star Reverse, Narrow Date. Heraldic
Eagle. Mint State-63 (PCGS).
‘^The coinage has been stopped near three months, occasioned by the
late calamitous fever, and the decay of some of the machinery ” —
Elias Boudinot to President John Adams, January 3, 1799
Impressively frosty and positively beautiful, the highly
lustrous deep yellow gold surfaces show hints of warm orange
toning inside the rims. Satiny and lacking any reflective
character, both sides exude rich aesthetic appeal. Some light
hairlines are visible, few in number and trivial in importance,
but no heavy impact points are seen. A thin scratch starts and
stops on a path from behind the ear, across the throat, and into
the field near star 14. The in-hand visual impact of both sides is
nothing short of superb.
Most devices show enviable sharpness, though the
disintegrating die state causes some localized weakness, such as
that found in the center of the reverse. Struck from the same
obverse die as the 1798 Small Eagle, the heavy arc under the
date is still present, as is the similar scribe line above ERT of
LIBERTY, but a significant network of further cracks has also
developed. A heavy vertical crack extends from the rim through
the top of the cap, jogging through the back of Liberty’s hair
before joining another crack that crosses to star 1 and the
rim beyond. A further vertical crack in the left obverse field
causes a crease that extends as high as star 6. Two very light
cracks intersect near central obverse, while another faint crack
connects the bases of 17 together, 17 are also joined by a short
delicate crack at their tops. Rim crumbling is apparent above
stars 4, 5, and 8. Through all of these cracks, the detail remains
excellent, and no adjustment marks are visible.
The reverse is similarly shattered. A vertical crack from the
rim through the second S in STATES, with a brief detour at
the middle curve of that letter, descends through star 4 into
the center of the eagle’s head. Another touches the wingtip at
right and runs along the top of that wing before crossing stars
12 and 13 on its way to the center, where it meets the first
crack and from which point another crack descends across the
end of the olive branch to the rim. A further crack extends
from that intersection through the upper right shield point, the
topmost berry on the olive branch, and the right side of R in
AMERICA on its way to the rim. A very thin crack from below
B of PLURIBUS passes through the upper left shield point
through the arrowheads and N of UNITED. As shattered as this
die is, other even more advanced die states are known.
With every manner of roadblock thrown in their path, the
efforts of the staff of the United States Mint in 1798 were little
short of heroic. Mint Director Elias Boudinot had to contend
with Congress’s “great want of economy,” with cost-cutting
concerns manifesting in varieties like the 1795 Heraldic Eagle,
the 1798 Small Eagle, and the 1797/5 overdate, produced from
out of date dies that were too precious to discard. Further,
the annual yellow fever season turned Philadelphia into a
temporary ghost town during warm weather months. Mint
Treasurer Benjamin Rush, considered the nation’s expert on
the disease, noted in 1798 that “moschetoes abounded, as usual
in sickly season.”
No PCGS-certified 1798 half eagle has ever appeared at
auction graded finer than MS-62. As the most plentiful of the
1798 varieties, and among the most plentiful of the 18th century
half eagles, the 1798 Large 8, 13 Star Reverse is often selected
by type collectors. Blessed with a provenance that includes the
Garrett and Bass collections and tied for finest certified, perhaps
no other survivor from these dies could be more desirable than
the D Brent Pogue specimen.
PCGS Population: 4 , none finer. (Large 8,13 Star Reverse)
Provenance: Found in the Garrett Collection, presumed to have
been part of the T. Harrison Garrett Collection; T. Harrison Garrett
to Robert and John Work Garrett, by descent, 1888; Robert Garrett
interest to John Work Garrett, 1919; transfer completed 1921; John
Work Garrett to The Johns Hopkins University, by gift, 1 942; Bowers
and Ruddy’s sale of the Garrett Collection, Part I, November 1979,
lot 440; Harry W Bass, Jr. Collection; Bowers and Merena’s sale of
the Harry W Bass, Jr. Collection, Part II, October 1999, lot 722;
Heritage’s 2002 American Numismatic Association sale, July 2002,
lot 9127, via Eric Streiner.
Estimate: $30,000 - $40,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 187
1798 Bass Dannreuther-3. Rarity-S. Large 8, 14 Stars Reverse, Wide Date.
Heraldic Eagle. About Uncirculated- 5 5 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
Distinctive 1798 14 Stars Reverse Half Eagle
From the Harry W. Bass Jr. Collection
Lot 2078. 1798 Bass Dannreuther-3. Rarity-5. Large 8, 14 Stars Reverse, Wide Date. Heraldic
Eagle. About Uncirculated-55 (PCGS).
‘^No true Mint State examples known, however about a half dozen
are very close. ” — Robert W Miller, Sr.,
United States Half Eagle Gold Coins 1795 to 1834, 1997
Pale yellow gold with lustrous surfaces, almost glossy in
character, and blushes of orange on highpoints that have
witnessed a trivial degree of wear. Sharp and appealing,
subjected to only a brief and uneventful stay in circulation.
Light hairlines are visible, along with a scattering of minor
handling marks. A trio of marks in a row from star 5 to the base
of Liberty’s cap is seen, matched by a trio of short scratches in
the small space between the tip of her cap and the rim. Two
shallow abrasions are seen in the upper left obverse field inside
of stars 7 and 8. The reverse shows some shallow adjustment
marks, best visible in the space between STATES OF and the
clouds below, but somewhat able to be made out elsewhere,
always in the same parallel pattern. Several scattered lintmarks
and similar impressions are seen on both sides, including a short
curved lintmark inside the base of the 8 in the date, a longer
curve from Liberty’s forelock, two under IT of UNITED, and a
few smaller ones elsewhere.
While the obverse die is in good shape, the reverse die has
already exerted itself past the boundaries of its steel. The cracks
converge at a heavy break just right of center amidst the azure
of the shield, splaying out from that point to star 13 and F of
OF, the top leaves of the olive branch and E of AMERICA, the
olive branch stem and the right lower serif of the second A in
AMERICA, the arrow butts, and US of PLURIBUS and star
13. Other cracks cross the fourth feather down on the wingtip
at left to E of the motto, the left side of the first T in STATES
to cloud 1 and the first A of AMERICA to the wing. Trying
to remove these cracks early in their lifespan, coiners lapped
this reverse die heavily, hollowing the wing at right and several
leaves on the olive branch. This die state is equivalent to the
latest state documented in the Bass-Dannreuther work, called
reverse state d and considered terminal.
Though fewer than 50 specimens are known in all grades,
Harry Bass was fascinated enough by the fine variations between
die states of this variety that he amassed four examples. There is
much to intrigue the specialists here, including fine die cracks
that seem slightly different on every known specimen and the
only use of the sole 14-star reverse in the early half eagle series.
As Dannreuther notes in the Bass-Dannreuther book, the rarity
of this die variety stems from “an early failure of this reverse, as
the obverse is still in perfect condition for the second pairing.”
The obverse would survive through a substantial production
run of the marriage known as BD-4, one of the more easily
located 1798 varieties today.
David Akers reported decades ago that “when available at all,
VF or so is about all one can expect.” Even when encountered
in reasonably high grades, many specimens (including the high
grade pieces in the 1946 Boyd and 1956 Melish sales) show
an area of soft striking that renders one of the 14 stars nearly
invisible, which perhaps defeats the purpose of collecting one.
Though such an area of soft striking behind the eagle’s head is
commonplace, that star is struck up boldly here.
When this piece reentered the marketplace in the 1999 Bass
II sale after an absence of 23 years, it was the finest PCGS-
certified example of this variety to have ever sold. After two
additional Bass sales, and 16 more years, that statement remains
true today.
PCGS Population: 6, 1 finer (AU-58). (Large 8, 14 Stars
Reverse)
Publications: Akers, David. United States Gold Coins: An
Analysis of Auction Records, Volume IV, Half Eagles 1 795- 1 829,
1979, p. 14.
Provenance: Paramount’s sale of May 1976, lot 1071; Harry
W Bass, Jr. Collection; Bowers and Merena’s sale of the Harry W Bass,
Jr. Collection, Part II, October 1999, lot 724; Dr. James A. Ferrendelli
Collection; Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ 2014 American Numismatic
Association Convention sale, August 2014, lot 11064.
Estimate: $25,000 - $35,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 189
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
Underappreciated Small 8 1798 Half Eagle
One of the Finest Known
Lot 2079. 1798 Bass Dannreuther-6. Rarity-6. Small 8. Heraldic Eagle. AU-58 (PCGS).
^^Every gold and silver planchet as cut out was passed through
the hands of an adjuster; if overweight reduced by a file, a leather
pouch in front of his bench catching the filings; if too light they were
returned to the melter. ” — George Escol Sellers, ‘Early Engineering
Reminiscences,” AmeTLic 2 in Machinist, May 4, 1893
Profound lustrous cartwheel spins around peripheries, frames
devices, and appears in the fields of both sides. Deep yellow
gold toning is present on obverse and reverse, splashed here and
there with areas of copper orange. Significant adjustment lines
are prominent in the low spot at the central obverse, mostly
parallel and horizontal though at least one line crosses them
on a perpendicular. Some other vestiges of planchet adjustment
are seen near star 13 and the bust truncation, though none are
noted on the reverse. The obverse fields show some modest
hairlines, though their number is fewer and their significance is
less evident on the reverse. No major marks are seen, just a light
scrape inside star 5, a thin scratch from star 10 to near Liberty’s
lips, and some other minor chatter elsewhere. The softly struck
central reverse, opposite the obverse adjustment marks, shows
some planchet texture where insufficient oppositional force
was applied to obliterate it. The overall eye appeal is that of a
pleasing and natural-appearing example, nicer than most at this
grade level.
A fine crack extends on the reverse from a denticle tip above
the left side of O of OF, through the clouds, between stars 10
and 1 1 , ending in the feathers of the wing at right close to the
edge of the shield. In a later state, the obverse breaks dramatically
This earlier intermediate state, equivalent to Bass-Dannreuther
obverse state a and reverse state b, is quite scarce.
Three different obverse dies with the “Small 8” date punch,
referred to as “Normal 8” in the Bass-Dannreuther book, were
put into use, each married to a unique reverse to create three
Small 8 varieties. Of these, BD-7 is the rarest, with fewer than 10
known. BD-8 is the most common, with a population estimated
at 40 to 50. This variety is in the middle, with fewer than 40
known and possibly as few as 25 in all grades. Most specimens
seen have significant central adjustment marks, heavier than
those seen on other 1798 varieties, perhaps suggesting different
processes or personnel for this deposit of half eagles than others.
George Escol Sellers, a grandson of Charles Willson Peale,
witnessed the process of adjusting planchets at the First United
States Mint. Born just a block away from the Mint, he described
the act of seeing coining equipment in action as “one of almost
daily occurrence.” His evocative description of planchets being
adjusted, an employment that would be left almost entirely to
female workers in later years, is the only eyewitness account of
the activity that remains from this era. Sellers’ recollections were
published in the magazine American Machinist decades later and
gathered into a single volume, published by the Smithsonian
Institution, in 1965.
The elusiveness of this variety went years without proper
appreciation. In 1965, Breen noted that it was “less often
encountered than the two common Large Date coins,” but
accorded it little respect. Harry Bass’ decades-long search for
early gold varieties shined a brighter light on this marriage,
as he acquired just a single example. The lone piece acquired
by Harry Bass remains in the Harry Bass Core Collection. In
the Bass-Dannreuther text, John Dannreuther writes that “the
rarity of this coin is due to the quick failure of the obverse die,
so Bass may not ever have been offered a differing [die] state of
this variety” This example appears to have never sold at auction
during the years Bass was active. No specimen of the Small 8
type graded at any level of Mint State by PCGS has ever sold
publicly
PCGS Population: 2, 1 finer (MS-61). (Small 8)
Provenance: Paul Nugget, by sale, March 2004.
Estimate: $15,000 - $25,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 191
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
Very Rare 1799 Large Reverse Stars Half Eagle
Perhaps Finest Known
Lot 2080. 1799 Bass Dannreuther-5. Rarity-5+. Large Reverse Stars. Mint State-63+ (PCGS).
^Tive Dollars Reward. Ran away from the subscriber, without any
provocation, on the 31st of August 1799, an apprentice lad named
Vachel Johnson, a shoemaker by trade, about 20 years of age, 5 feet
5 or 6 inches high, has a down sullen look when spoken to, has
sandy or reddish hair, tied behind ...” — The Maryland Gazette,
Annapolis, Maryland, September 5, 1 199
Glimmering with impressive depths of reflectivity and
showing the finest deep yellow gold color, this example presents
extraordinary aesthetic appeal and definitive detail. Both sides are
resoundingly lustrous, the obverse showing cartwheel in addition
to its reflectivity, while the reverse is mostly frosty and satiny, but
for some prooflike character in the lower left field. Very well
struck, with bold centers and sharp peripheries; only the stars at
the lower right obverse lack their centers while all reverse stars
show theirs. The obverse shows some inconsequential hairlines,
and a glass will find a light abrasion from the chin to star 11
and a thin hairline from star 6 to the back of the hair. On the
reverse, the surfaces are pristine but for the most minor and
inconsequential lines. A nearly invisible abrasion is noted on
the rim above the second S in STATES. No heavy adjustment
marks are present, just some light ones that are barely seen on the
eagle s chest and in the upper bend of the wing at right. Lighter
planchet preparation lines on the obverse are well struck out and
vertical in orientation, barely visible near LIBERTY and just
below. Some suggestion of them is visible atop the reverse, more
prominent on the cloud below OF.
Struck from a fascinating die state, with an essentially perfect
obverse but a boldly clashed reverse, the same die state seen on
the coin in our Bass II sale of 1999, lot 732. Though the clash is
bold on the reverse and seemingly nonexistent on the obverse,
the date placement of the clash makes it evident that the clash
was suffered as part of the present die marriage. Apparently, the
clash marks left around the date on the obverse were able to
be entirely lapped away, leaving no more evidence than a few
malformed denticles beneath the space under 99 of the date.
Two very light die cracks are seen on the obverse, one from the
rim to the top of the upright in B of LIBERTY and the other
from the lowest curl to the rim left of the 1 in the date. The final
9 of the date is lightly recut.
The Large Stars Reverse variety of 1799 half eagles consists
of just two individual die marriages: Bass Dannreuther-5 and
Bass Dannreuther-8. Though different reverse dies were used
for the two, the large star punches are common to both. Each
is very rare. Harry Bass was able to acquire two specimens of
each, with the Core Collection retaining one of them, while
the duplicates, both graded AU-55 (PCGS) were sold in the
Bass II auction. No survivor of the Large Stars Reverse is
known in a finer grade than the D. Brent Pogue specimen. The
retained Bass BD-5 appears to be of similar quality, while the
Core Collection BD-8 is not.
More than twice as many Small Stars Reverse 1799 half
eagles have been certified by PCGS than the Large Stars Reverse
type. In Mint State, the difference in rarity is more stark, with
25 Mint State submissions for the Large Stars Reverse reflected
on the PCGS Population Report versus just three for the Small
Stars Reverse. Among them, this is the finest certified.
PCGS Population: 1, none finer. (1799 Large Stars
Reverse)
Provenance: Dank Rodgers Collection; Superior Stamp and
Coin’s sale of the Michael I. Keston Collection, January 1996, lot 85,
via Larry Hanks; private collection; Bowers and Merena’s Rarities sale,
August 2001, lot 355.
Estimate: $40,000 - $60,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 193
1800 Bass Dannreuther-2. Rarity-3+. Mint State-64 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
Extraordinary Prooflike 1800 Half Eagle
The Baldenhofer Coin
Lot 2081. 1800 Bass Dannreuther-2. Rarity-3+. Mint State-64 (PCGS).
‘^The finest one is probably Baldenhofer 1206, proofiike.”
— Walter Breen, 1965
A singularly spectacular 1800 half eagle, this coin presents
a look rather like a Proof coin of today. Fully reflective on
both sides to a depth that challenges the imagination without
in-hand examination, the fields emit light like a beacon from
their deep yellow surfaces. Richer autumnal orange tones
surround the date, showcasing this coin’s ancient originality
Very few hairlines are present, unusual for a coin with these
kinds of surfaces, though some light marks and fine abrasions
are noted under scrutiny A batch of old scratches above the date
is the only noticeable defect, without which this coin would
undoubtedly reach a stratospheric numerical grade, though it
offers the appearance of a superb gem even with them present.
A light nearly horizontal abrasion is located in the left obverse
field right of star 5, a curved thin scratch may be seen below
Liberty’s chin, and another light scrape is present beneath T
of UNITED on the reverse. A short lintmark is seen between
the throat and star 12, and some parallel horizontal adjustment
marks are nearly entirely struck out atop the obverse.
The strike is resoundingly sharp, with full star centers on
both obverse and reverse, fine hair details that are usually lost
at the central obverse, and feathers on the eagle’s chest that
are only infrequently seen. Circular lathe lines are seen on the
portrait, both in the area above Liberty’s chest and in the gap
between her two lower hanging locks. The area inside and just
below her ear has been polished on the die, producing a small
area of bright reflectivity at the central obverse that contrasts
sharply with the frosty portrait device. There are no cracks or
clashes, equivalent to Bass-Dannreuther state a for both obverse
and reverse, suggesting that either this is one of the first coins
struck from these fresh dies or that, perhaps, all examples from
this early die state looked this good when they were struck but
this is the only one to survive in such a state.
One of the most distinctive early half eagles extant, this
specimen has such an extraordinary look that it stands out
even among the magnificent half eagles of the D. Brent Pogue
Collection. Its deeply mirrored fields led to the sensible (if
now obsolete) conclusion in the 1955 Baldenhofer catalog
that this coin was “possibly an early Proof.” The catalog further
described this piece as “definitely a first strike ...We call this
specimen a semi-Proof.” David Akers believed that this was the
coin that had earlier been called a Proof by B. Max Mehl in
his Belden Roach (1944) and Jerome Kern (1950) sales, which
seems probable though neither catalog included a photograph.
His colorful description called the coin “centered perfectly;
unusually bold impression with every star sharp ... the most
beautiful specimen of this date I have ever seen,” all of which
certainly fits this magnificent example.
While Mint State 1800 half eagles are more easily found than
other dates in the series, thanks to a substantial mintage that
extended into 1801, “they tend to be at the lower end of the
Mint State range,” as noted by Ron Guth at PCGS Compacts.
No PCGS MS-65 or finer specimen has ever sold at auction.
Few examples have survived in such lofty grade as this one, and
fewer still exhibit the kind of spectacular reflectivity seen on
this long-revered specimen.
PCGS Population: 1, 1 finer (MS-66).
Publications: Breen, Walter. Early United States Half Eagles
1795-1838, 1966, p. 24. Akers, David. United States Gold Coins:
An Analysis of Auction Records, Volume Ilf Half Eagles 1795-1829,
1979, p. 17.
Provenance: Belden Roach Collection; B. Max MehVs sale
of the Belden Roach Collection, February 1944, lot 511; B. Max
MehVs Golden fubilee sale of the ferome Kern Collection, May 1950,
lot 329 (foregoing is speculative, stated by David Akers); William
G. Baldenhofer Collection; Stack’s sale of the Farish Baldenhofer
Collection, November 1955, lot 1206; Paramount (David Akers), by
sale, March 1 98 6.
Estimate: $50,000 - $75,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 195
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
Extraordinary Gem 1802/1 Half Eagle
“A Most Beautiful Example”
Lot 2082. 1802/1 Bass Dannreuther-l. Rarity-4+. Mint State-66 (PCGS).
collector who wishes to commit a substantial sum can form a set of
the highest possible quality. ” — Norman Stack,
United States Type Coins^ 1986.
A giant among the Pogue half eagles, blessed with
incomparable aesthetic gifts and nearly unparalleled technical
quality, a combination that few coins of this entire type could
ever rival. Luxurious and complex deep yellow and sunset orange
toning shows glimpses of pale blue and violet, a color scheme
that was never common but in the modern era is extraordinarily
rare. Unspoiled and richly original, this coin is the numismatic
equivalent of a car with wooden wheels, a reminder of a simpler
and mostly forgotten era. Its luster is abundant and deeply satiny,
even bolder on the reverse than the somewhat reflective obverse,
though in fairness both sides glow and return the beams of light
shone on them directly The strike is extremely crisp, with fine
lines on the individual strands of Liberty’s hair seen at the central
obverse, strong star centers, and other similarly exacting details.
The details in the eagle’s wings show clarity that imitates life.
The minty, frosty fields are nearly immaculate, showing very few
of even the most minor lines or contact points. A thin vertical
hairline is seen from the inside tip of star 2 north to near star 4. A
small batch of lines is found in the field near stars 9 and 10, and
a tiny mark is hidden in the denticles below the final date digit.
The reverse is positively pristine.
Fine concentric lathe lines remain visible in Liberty’s cap
and low on her neck, and a burst of reflectivity is present near
her ear and between her shoulder tresses where the portrait was
polished in the die. The obverse is perfect, but the reverse is
cracked, first across the shield, on a nearly perfect horizontal line
connecting the lowest points of each wing. A broad arc crack
strings from the rim between ST of STATES to the eagle’s eye
up again to the upper flag of F of OF; a fine crack splits Ob' and
crosses the top of the first T in STATES. Another arc splits Ob'
right of UNUM and crosses the wing at right to the center of
M in AMERICA, a crack that begets another that runs down
the wing at right, along the right side of the shield, and ends at
the polished hollow leaf midway on the olive branch. Nearly
terminal, though that state includes a crack that continues across
the olive branch through the curve of C in AMERICA, a crack
not yet present here. Following that crack, the only remaining
mystery is which piece fell from the completely shattered reverse
die first.
Though two different obverse dies were used to strike the
half eagles of this date, both exhibit the 1802/1 overdate. The
obverse shows what Bass and Dannreuther call the “centered
overdate,” while the second obverse die (the “high overdate”) is
a little less obvious. This was probably the obverse die described
by George A. Seavey in the American fournal of Numismatics
in March 1869 as “1801 half eagle, 1 under 2.” While 26,006
half eagles were delivered in 1801, all or nearly all were dated
1800. The two dies produced in expectation of an 1801-dated
production remained shelved until 1802.
While tens of thousands of half eagles were minted in 1802,
PCGS has certified but two at the gem level of MS-65 or
finer, with this specimen alone within the top rank of MS-66.
Henry Chapman summarized this coin’s eye appeal succinctly
in the 1912 Earle sale, calling it “a most beautiful example.” It
is extraordinary enough to have been chosen by Norman Stack
to represent the design type, the finest encountered over the
course of a lifetime filled with opportunities to acquire coins
of superlative quality Since the Norman Stack Type Set was
broken up and sold by private treaty 25 years ago, this piece has
been off the market; in fact, its last auction appearance may have
been the Earle sale over a century ago.
PCGS Population: l,none finer.
Publications: Stack, Norman. United States Type Coins: An
Illustrated History of the Federal Coinage, 1986. Depicted on page
60.
Provenance: George H. Earle, fr. Collection; Henry Chapman’s
sale of the George H. Earle, fr. Collection, fune 1912, lot 2349;
Norman Stack Type Set; Stack’s to Kenneth Goldman and MarkYaffe,
via Eric Streiner;fay Parrino to Earry Hanks, by sale, ca. 1994; Great
Eakes Collection; Earry Hanks, by sale, June 2001.
Estimate: $200,000 - $300,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 197
1803/2 Bass Dannreuther-4. Rarity-4. Mint State-66+ (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
The Finest Known 1803/2 Half Eagle
Single Finest Pre-1807 Half Eagle Certified by PCGS
Lot 2083. 1803/2 Bass Daniireuther-4. Rarity-4. Mint State-66+ (PCGS).
noted gambler of the name Greenlaugh passed through this
place yesterday ... it is believed he has in his possession now, a large
quantity of bank notes, and coins of the eagle and half-eagle, which
are counterfeit. It is his custom to be armed with pistols and dirk. ”
— The Evening Post, New York City, August 18, 1803
This is not only one of the most visually exciting coins
in the entire D. Brent Pogue Collection of Draped Bust half
eagles, but it is likely the very finest example of this early type
known. It is a coin of nearly mystical quality, a talisman from
the Jefferson Administration that has magically transported as-
coined lustrous surfaces and flash from two centuries ago, seen
anew in the present day like light from a supernova millions of
light years away The fields are fresh and bright, witnesses to only
the most minor handling, most of it likely before this coin ever
left the mint. The most trivial lines and contact points are found
with a glass, not to be confused with the fine lines left from
planchet preparation that run southwest to northeast on the
obverse, nearly vertical on the reverse. Only the most minute
distractions have found a home on the obverse, including a
microscopic nick near Liberty’s jawline, a short line right of
stars 1 and 2, and a short abrasion above the right side of 8 in
the date. The reverse is immaculate and abundantly detailed,
so well struck that each feather on the eagle’s chest is fully
detailed. A few tiny natural planchet chips or depressions are
seen, including one outside star 1 1 and another attached to a
denticle at the tip of the bust. The world-class visual appeal is as
exceptional as it is unexpected on a coin of this type, with both
sides presenting the look of a coin just made, finely struck and
given a wealth of detail before being dropped, still warm, into
the viewer’s hand.
The portrait device punch of Liberty shows some rust, most
visible on her forelock and immediately above the lock of hair
that sweeps across her cap. Efforts at the Mint to remove the rust
(or, alternatively, clashing) have left a bright reflective hollow
spot among her lower curls. Some die cracks are also seen,
including a delicate one that connects stars 2 through 5 at their
outer points, and similarly fine cracks that connect LIB at their
top and TY to star 9. The most notable obverse crack is bold
across the bottom of the date, extending from a whisper-thin
line from the outer point of star 1 on an arc across the bases of
each date digit to the rim beneath star 13. The overdate is easily
evident to the naked eye, leaving no mystery as to the nature
of the underdigit. Slight die clashing is visible on both sides,
mostly lapped away but still visible at the rounded juncture of
Liberty’s bustline and neck and on the reverse among the star
cluster. The repair to the surface of the reverse die after the
clashing has left the cloud under A of STATES polished away,
as with some detail in the wing at left above L of PLURIBUS.
Like the obverse, the reverse is boldly cracked, from the rim
beyond the eagle’s wingtip at left, through that wing and
across the top of the shield, first diagonally, then horizontally,
continuing horizontally across the central reverse and through
the E of AMERICA. This total bisection is equivalent to Bass-
Dannreuther reverse state c, which remarkably remains static
through this reverse die’s use in four more die marriages dated
1804. The obverse die, seen here in state c, later loses a piece
under the date before being condemned to the scrap heap.
The single finest half eagle of this type known to exist, this
coin was a sensation when it appeared on the market following
decades in the collection of Michigan connoisseur Andrew
Sydlak. Sydlak’s tastes echoed those of Mr. Pogue, acquiring the
finest quality coins with little regard for price. While such an
attitude prompted criticism in the 1950s, when gems traded
at modest premiums to the prices of more typical Mint State
coins, Sydlak’s uncompromising demand for the best has been
vindicated in modern times. The only challenge in owning a
coin so fine is finding other ones that match its quality.
PCGS Population: l,none finer.
Provenance: Michael Kolman Sr. (Federal Brand Enterprises),
by sale, 1953; Andrew Sydlak Collection; Richard Burdick, Anthony
Terranova, Bruce Amspacher, by sale; David Akers, by sale, January
1989.
Estimate: $200,000 - $300,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 199
1804 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-4+. Small 8. Mint State-64 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
Superb 1804 Small 8 Half Eagle
Harry Bass: “Normal 8”
Lot 2084. 1804 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-4+. Small 8. Mint State-64 (PCGS).
^^The coin of the United States has a wretched appearance after they
have been a month in circulation, executed by Scot who has made
an independent fortune, and who would wish to employ Reich only
from a fear that the excellence of his work would cause him to be
supplanted. I heard it said the other day, that it was a shame there
was only one Republican officer in the Mint (Voigt) and that we
should have such poor coin while we could command the talents of
Reich and do honor to the Jeffersonian Age.” — John Lithgow to
Thomas Jefferson, December 24, 1804
Creamy light yellow gold with impressive cartwheel
and sublime satiny luster, especiaUy bright on the reverse. A
handsome survivor, touched by very little handling on the
obverse and none of any importance on the superb gem quality
reverse. A tiny contact point is seen in the left obverse field
parallel to the space between stars 2 and 3, another below R
of LIBERTY, along with a scattering of trivial hairlines. Some
raised artifacts near stars 12 and 13 are relics of spaUing on the
die face. The reverse fields are fresh and immaculate, pretty as a
picture around resoundingly weU struck devices. Some spalling
is also seen on the reverse, especially around the arrowheads and
the wingtip at left, the latter region showing some lapping lines
remaining from an effort to repair the die face.
The obverse is cracked verticaUy from the bottom of
Liberty’s cap, through precise central obverse and down the
center of the portrait to the 0 of the date, which it neatly bisects
before ending among the denticles. The reverse is cracked from
the arrow butts to the rim, then from the rim in the same spot
through the top serifs of UNIT, ending in a substantial cud above
T that swaUows that letter’s crossbar. The cud, an area where no
die face was left to stamp out adjustment marks, reveals some
vestiges ofplanchet adjustment, which can also be seen between
the cud and the nearby wingtip. They are likewise visible in the
area around the wingtip at right, beneath OF and into the cloud
under O and, less noticeably, the star cluster below
This type, long caUed the “Small 8,” was more correctly
named the “Normal 8” by Harry Bass who noticed “the 8 is
the correct punch to match the other digits, so it is not smaU,
although it is smaUer than the Large 8 punch,” as summarized
by John Dannreuther in the Bass-Dannreuther book.
While this design type is roundly beloved today, it was
not without contemporary criticism. John Lithgow, who
complained to Thomas Jefferson about coinage, was a frequent
correspondent with both Washington and Jefferson. Among the
letters from Lithgow that are preserved in the National Archives,
five in aU, he lodges various complaints in each, spanning a wide
variety of subjects. To Washington, he complained about the
institution of a national lottery, which he proclaimed “national
vice,” and likewise beUyached about the quality of roads, the
scarcity of specie and the evils of banks, and other issues. He
whined to Jefferson about the structure of the military, errors
in his book Notes on the State of Virginia, and rumors that he has
trusted the wrong people. Perhaps meaningfully, Washington’s
response is not known. Jefferson put him off politely, responding
to his criticisms of Notes on the State of Virginia by saying “when
I retire, I may amuse myself with a serious review of this work.
At present it is out of the question.” It would be interesting to
know what he thought ofLithgow’s critiques of the products of
the Mint, as the Mint establishment and coins in general were
subjects that held profound interest for Jefferson.
Robert Scot’s designs translate perfectly onto this golden
canvas, making this a showcase for the Draped Bust half eagle
type. This coin is unsurpassed by any example of this famous
date seen by PCGS. Walter Breen singled this coin out in 1966
as one of the best he had seen, and its superlative nature remains
intact today
PCGS Population: 4, none finer. (SmaU 8)
Publications: Breen, Walter. Early United States Half Eagles
1795-1838, 1966, p. 32.
Provenance: Stack’s sale of the Philip G. Straus Collection, May
1959, lot 2400; David W Akers, Inc.’s session of Auction ’90, August
1990, lot 1880.
Estimate: $30,000 - $40,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 201
1804 Bass Danmeuther-S. Rarity-6+. Normal 8 over Large 8. Mint State-64 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
Dramatically Toned 1804 Half Eagle
Small 8 Over Large 8
Lot 2085. 1804 Bass Dannreuther-5. Rarity-6+. Normal 8 over Large 8. Mint State-64 (PCGS).
‘It is worthy of the Presidents attention that about eleven thousand
dollars of the gold coin is the product of virgin gold found in the
county of Cabarrus in the state of North Carolina, where it is said a
very considerable quantity has been found since the last deposit, and
will in all probability be forwarded to the Mint. “
— Elias Boudinot, Report of the Director of the Mint,
January 15, 1805
One of the most beautiful early half eagles extant, this
specimen is without a doubt the most colorful, rich with deep
magenta and coppery tones on the right side of the obverse,
framed with orange and translucent ice blue on both sides that
embrace deepest golden yellow fields. A spectacle and a prize,
fully lustrous and impressively satiny, this piece exhibits some
reflective character on the obverse. All devices are stunningly
well struck, including the bold repunching of the first three date
digits, though the use of two different size punches for the 8 has
given this variety its chief identifier. A scattering of minor marks
and abrasions is seen, none especially notable though we single
out a line left of stars 9, 10, and 11 and a few little marks right
of stars 3 and 4. The reverse, as usual, was more protected from
casual handling, and examination finds only a minor abrasion in
the space between STATES and OE
The obverse is unclashed and uncracked, though some
evidence of lapping within the portrait device is seen in the
space over Liberty’s shoulder and right of the lock that sweeps
over her cap. The reverse, now an experienced hand in her
sixth marriage, is both clashed and cracked. The clash is bold,
showing the entire Liberty portrait, the 1804 date, and portions
of LIBERTY, imbued by the previous (and very rare) marriage
of this die. A long crack extends from the top of the wingtip
at left, over L of PLURIBUS on a diagonal path to the center
of the shield, then precisely horizontal to the tip of the highest
olive leaf and directly through E of AMERICA.
Just six years after the first modern discovery of gold in
North Carolina on John Reed’s farm in southeastern Cabarrus
County, near Charlotte, enough gold was being transported
to Philadelphia to make an impact upon the output of gold
coins. More than 5% of the gold deposited for coinage in 1804
came from Cabarrus County, a number that would continue
to grow, though much of the gold mined in the Carolinas was
either wrought into form locally or exported without being
coined. In 1829, the Mint Director reported coining $128,000
worth of gold mined in North Carolina. Six years later in 1835,
legislation was passed to build a branch mint in the region.
A famous rarity in its highest known state of preservation,
this coin could only be found in the D Brent Pogue Collection.
As a variety, it nears the highest echelons of elusiveness, with a
population of 15 to 18 specimens in all grades estimated in the
Bass-Dannreuther book. This variety was not known to Breen
in 1966, though specimens had been offered during his period
of study (including the coin in the 1955 Parish Baldenhofer
sale, a specimen of this variety that later ended up in the Harry
Bass Collection) was acquired by Mrs. Emery May Norweb.
Beyond its elusiveness as a variety, this ranks among the finest
surviving specimens of the date. Not a single 1804 half eagle has
been graded finer by PCGS.
PCGS Population: 2, none finer. (Small 8 over Large 8)
Provenance: James A. Stack, Sr. Collection, before 1949;
James A. Stack, Jr., by descent; Stack’s sale of the James A. Stack, Sr.
Collection, October 1994, lot 1043; Oliver Jung Collection; American
Numismatic Rarities’ sale of the Oliver Jung Collection, June 2004,
lot 91.
Estimate: $50,000 - $75,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 203
180S Bass Dannreuther-2. Rarity-4. Mint State-65 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
Beautifully Toned Gem 1805 Half Eagle
Tied For Finest Certified by PCGS
Lot 2086. 1805 Bass Dannreuther-2. Rarity-4. Mint State-65 (PCGS).
“Foreign gold ceased on 1 May last to he a legal tender. At that time,
nine-tenths of the circulating specie, or of that in the vaults of the
several Banks, consisted of such gold. A letter was written to the Bank
of the United States recommending the importation of dollars from
Europe, and the coining into American coins [of] the foreign gold in
their possession. ”
Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin
to Thomas Jefferson, October 9, 1805
Kissed with coppery color all over the obverse and reverse,
a deep tone that draws the eye to the contrast between the
pale-green tinted yellow gold of the obverse and the deep
yellow gold of the boldly reflective reverse. The obverse luster is
thoroughly satiny, no less bright than the moment it was struck.
The reverse definition boggles the mind, showing exceptional
fine details and extraordinary contrast to the mirrored fields,
recalling the Pogue 1800 half eagle or, in a different context,
modern Proof coins. No heavy marks, abrasions, or scratches
appear on either side, just some minor hairlines of a trivial and
forgivable nature. For lack of something of greater consequence,
a light mark between the chin and star 12 is noted. Adjustment
lines cross the bust truncation above the date between star 1
and star 13, also evident on Liberty’s cap and at the left obverse
periphery
The obverse is nearly bisected, cracked from the lower left
serif of B through the central device before splitting the 0 in
the date and progressing to the rim. Die rust, not spalling, is
seen in a deep patch at LI of LIBERTY and in fainter bits in
the 0 of the date and right, hugging the denticles and reaching
as far as star 12. A raised line above star 8 to L may remain
from an effort to efface the die rust in that area. The reverse
is uncracked, unclashed, and unrusted, perfect compared to its
more weathered compatriot on the obverse. It glows, as if to
acknowledge its perfection.
When this coin was struck, gold coins from the United
States Mint in Philadelphia were still rarely encountered in
commercial contexts, particularly beyond the Philadelphia area.
Foreign gold coins dominated the tills of merchants and the
vaults of banks, with pieces from Brazil and Portugal, Spain
and its American dominions, and France particularly common.
English gold coins were fairly uncommon in America by 1805,
as by then the numbers exported from England had declined
significantly No English guineas were minted at all from 1799
to 1813. As most American eagles were being exported to
overseas markets. President Jefferson encouraged the Mint to
stop producing the denomination after 1804, and the mintage
figures of half eagles increased dramatically thereafter. Nearly
65,000 half eagles were struck in 1806, and in 1810 that figure
would pass 100,000 for the first time. Foreign gold coins
provided the source for most of the gold bullion to produce the
increasing numbers of half eagles, though American gold mines,
particularly in North Carolina, continued to be profitable new
sources of precious metal as well.
1805 half eagles are relatively common in circulated grades,
within the setting of the early American gold series. Two of the
five die varieties known of this date are extremely rare in any
grade, with fewer than a half dozen known. Among the other
three varieties, there are generally enough examples in most
grades to satisfy the typical collector market, but connoisseur-
quality gems are extreme rarities. Only two MS-65 half eagles
of this date have been certified by PCGS. This is the more
colorful and engaging of the two. The other piece, once in the
Madison Collection, last sold in January 2008. The D. Brent
Pogue specimen, acquired privately three decades ago, has never
before been available to the modern generation of collectors.
PCGS Population: 2, none finer.
Provenance: Paramount (David Akers) , by sale. May 1985.
Estimate: $100,000 - $150,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 205
1806 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-4. Pointed 6, Stars 8x5. Mint State-65 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
Finest Certified 1806 Pointed 6 Half Eagle
Breen Encyclopedia Plate Coin
Lot 2087. 1806 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-4. Pointed 6, Stars 8x5. Mint State-65 (PCGS).
‘^Comparing this year’s coinage of the precious metals with that of the
ten preceding years ... the amount struck is nearly double the average
annual amount during that period, and the number of pieces (the
most accurate measure of the quantity of labor) considerably more than
quadruple. ” — Robert Patterson,
Report of the Director of the Mint, fanuary 1, 1807
A magnificent gem, a coin that could be described as “nearly
perfect” with no further comment. Its color is deep and rich,
closer to orange than yellow, but highlighted with translucent
sea green and pale yellow tones around the obverse devices
and haloed with deeper copper tones around the peripheral
elements of the reverse. Well struck from centers to rims, with
profound detail everywhere but those small regions where the
die state disallows it. While some hairlines and inconsequential
marks are present, they are shallow and especially trivial,
allowing the lustrous character of the fields and the fine detail
of the devices to sparkle. Not one is significant enough to
memorialize in type. A distinctive lintmark near stars 7 and 8
is shaped like an upside down and backward question mark.
Another lintmark, albeit with less personality, is seen in the
obverse field between Liberty’s chin and star 11. Some gentle
and unobtrusive adjustment marks are seen at the central
obverse and in the hair above Liberty’s ear, and a little planchet
chip is noted left of the base of O in OF. A wire rim is present
around the southwest quadrant of the obverse and the northeast
quadrant of the reverse.
Very light die cracks encircle the obverse, connecting stars 1
through 8 before trailing off prior to reaching L of LIBERTY.
Another connects stars 9 through 13. Several wispy die cracks
connect the date digits at their bases and midpoints, one of which
links to the peripheral crack at left. These are microscopically
fine and heavily interconnected. The reverse is also cracked,
heavily but not terminally, heaviest from the rim to the base of
the second S in STATES, a crack that continues with a V-shaped
formation in the cloud below, then traipses through stars 4 and
9, the eagle’s upper and lower beak, B in PLURIBUS, and the
upper left corner of the shield. Directly below B in PLURIBUS,
a nearly horizontal crack splits off and crosses the eagle’s chest,
top peak of the shield, wingpit at right, and ends at the lower
right serif of M in AMERICA. Another horizontal crack crosses
E of UNITED to the now soft sunken area of the wingpit at
left; a final fine die crack begins in the same area but peters out
before reaching the arrowheads. The reverse is seriously clashed,
most apparent in the bottom half of that side.
Perhaps overshadowed by the single extremely prolific die
marriage of the Round Top 6 type, the Pointed 6 half eagles of
1806 are actually fairly scarce. There are five different Pointed
6 varieties, four of them rated Rarity-5 + or higher and two of
them rated fully Rarity-7. Mint Director Robert Patterson was
rightly proud of his facility’s output in 1806, including more
than 64,000 half eagles of this date. The vast majority of those
half eagles, perhaps as many as 50,000 of them according to
John Dannreuther, were of the Round Top 6 variety. Bearing
the same date, the Pointed 6 half eagles are accorded relatively
little respect, even though the PCGS Population Report reflects
seven times more Round Top 6 specimens having been certified,
encompassing all grades.
Only four Pointed 6 half eagles have been graded MS-64 or
finer by PCGS, less than one-tenth as many as the same tally
for 1806 Round Top 6 (41 submissions) . This is the sole MS-
65 coin of the Pointed 6 type graded by PCGS in their nearly
30-year history.
PCGS Population: 1 , none finer. (Pointed 6, 8X5 Stars)
Publications: Akers, David. United States Gold Coins: An
Analysis of Auction Records, Volume IV, Half Eagles 1 795- 1 829,
1979, p. 26. Breen, Walter. Walter Breen’s Complete Encyclopedia
of United States and Colonial Coins, 1988. Depicted on page 518.
Provenance: Bowers and Ruddy’s sale of the Robert E. Branigan
Estate, August 1978, lot 1476; Kenneth Goldman to Earry Hanks;
private collection; Earry Hanks, by sale, March 2002.
Estimate: $50,000 - $75,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 207
1806 Bass Dannreuther-6. Rarity-2. Round Top 6, Stars 7x6. Mint State-65 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
Satiny Gem 1806 Round Top 6 Half Eagle
Among The Finest Known
Lot 2088. 1806 Bass Dannreuther-6. Rarity-2. Round Top 6, Stars 7x6. Mint State-65 (PCGS).
‘^Gold has neither smell nor taste. Its color is yellow, and this varies
according to the purity of the metal.” — Jean- Antoine- Claude
Chaptal, Elements of Chemistry^ 1806
Satiny luster blankets both sides, each evenly toned in a deep
golden shade approaching that of gourmet mustard. Neither
side shows any marks of consequence, and the fragile hairlines
seen under a glass likewise fade to insignificance under more
casual viewing. The visual appeal and state of preservation are
both excellent, despite the Mint’s use of a slightly subpar quality
planchet. A thin striation ends at a microscopic lamination
directly above E of STATES. Another short planchet striation
underlines star 1, and a long thin striation was mostly struck
out below Liberty’s ear to her throat, but some central obverse
granularity remains from the initial planchet texture. The
obverse die state remains perfect, but on the reverse several
distinct die clashes are seen, no less than two. Harry Bass’s notes
term this coin’s die state “5(a)/E(b),” denoting his obverse 5 in
state a married to his reverse E in state b. Today, with reverse A
of 1806 identified as a reverse previously used in 1805, this die
marriage is termed 5-D, or Bass Dannreuther-6.
This is the only die marriage to use the Round Top 6,
sometimes called “Knobbed 6,” obverse die. John Dannreuther
has estimated that between 35,000 and 50,000 coins were
struck from this die pairing, making it one of the most
prolific of all die combinations from the First United States
Mint. Survivorship rates for early United States gold coins are
infinitesimal, reduced by exportation for bullion, recoining
after 1834, melting for commercial use, and standard attrition.
Despite the seemingly enormous mintage, fewer than 1,000
examples of this die combination are thought to survive in all
grades, most of them worn, few of them Mint State, almost
none of them gem. Even the most plentiful of United States
gold coins of this era is an extraordinary rarity when found in
this level of preservation. PCGS has certified just three at the
MS-65 level with none finer.
PCGS Population: 3, none finer. (Round 6, 7X6 Stars)
Publications: Akers, David. United States Gold Coins: An
Analysis of Auction Records, Volume Il{ Half Eagles 1795-1829,
1979, p. 27.
Provenance: Quality Sales Corporations (Abner Kreisberg
and Jerry Cohen) sale of September 1973, lot 1159; Harry W. Bass,
Jr. Collection; Bowers and Merena’s sale of the Harry W Bass, Jr.
Collection, October 1999, lot 776; Bowers and Merena’s Rarities Sale,
January 2002, lot 675.
Estimate: $50,000 - $75,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
209
1807 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-4+. Mint State- 65 + (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
The Finest Small Reverse Stars 1807 Half Eagle
“A Flawless Example”
Lot 2089. 1807 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-4+. Mint State-65+ (PCGS).
^^The American, fatigued with his long journey, was soon asleep; but
about half past three in the morning, some officious attentions from
his paramour to the bosom of his shirt waked him . . . Roused by
this incident, he remembered also some property in his small-clothes,
consisting of a purple silk purse, containing American gold coins
(eagles and half-eagles) to the amount of about f35 sterling, and a
valuable gold watch in his fob . . . The loss of this property induced him
to raise an alarm: the watchmen were called. ”
— TheTimes^ London, England, October 6, 1807
A special coin, a profoundly satiny gem specimen of the last
year of this avidly collected type. The surfaces retain the superb
and desirable honey mustard shade of gold typical of original
specimens from this era, tinged with lightest highlights of pale
sea green. The devices on both sides are soundly struck and fully
evoke the beauty of this design.The surfaces are free from all but
the most microscopic marks and lines, and those that are present
are in such small number and such minimal concentrations that
scrutiny is required to determine that this coin is not entirely
pristine. The only mark visible without magnification is located
beneath the E of LIBERTY, closer to Liberty’s highest curl.
Thin diagonal cracks in LIBERTY run from left of E to its
top left serif, left of R to its left top serif and left of T to its left
top serif, while an even more delicate crack connects Y to stars
8 through 13. The reverse is perfect. The combination of Bass-
Dannreuther obverse state b and reverse state a was unknown
to either author of that reference. This is the only use of a Small
Reverse Stars die in 1807, making this an easily distinguished
major variety.
Stunningly original and supremely preserved, this coin
was pronounced “a flawless example” when sold in Auction
’79. Calling it “easily equal to the Bareford coin or better,”
the cataloger suggested at the time that this piece was “well
worth in excess of the $10,500 that coin realized.” It brought
nearly twice that price, selling for an even $20,000 just eight
months after the Bareford sale. Following its 1979 offering,
this coin remained in a small private collection founded upon
the notion of uncompromising quality. Dispersed in 2006, this
piece has been in the D. Brent Pogue cabinet since. Since its last
appearance, there have been no additional specimens graded
MS-65 (or MS-65 +), nor have there been other opportunities
to acquire an example of this date in such remarkable grade.
The finest 1807 half eagle certified by PCGS, this may be the
single best survivor of the date.
PCGS Population: l,none finer.
Provenance: Stack’s session of Auction ’79, July 1979, lot 809;
New York Connoisseur’s Collection; American Numismatic Rarities’
sale of the NewYork Connoisseur’s Collection, March 2006, lot 1574.
Estimate: $125,000 - $175,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
211
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Half Eagles
The Clapp-Eliasberg 1807 Draped Bust Half Eagle
Pedigreed to 1872
Lot 2090. 1807 Bass Dannreuther-6. Rarity-4+. Mint State-64 (PCGS).
‘It would be much more valuable to the public to be supplied with
abundance of dimes & half dimes which would stay among us, than
with dollars & eagles which leave us immediately. ” — Thomas
Jefferson to Mint Director Robert Patterson, March 29, 1807
Endowed with every imaginable positive aspect, this highly
lustrous, beautifully preserved, richly toned near gem is blessed
with perhaps the most regal of the American collector pedigrees:
Eliasberg.The surfaces betray an unbroken collector provenance
many decades old, exhibiting the sort of majestic deep orange
toning and freshness of surface that is the unmistakable hallmark
of a coin flush with originality Light hairlines are seen on the
obverse, none too troubling in their aesthetic impression, but
no heavy marks are noted, just a shallow abrasion midway
between the chin and star 11. The reverse is free of any kind
of remarkable distraction, though we note a light jogging
nick above the arrowheads. The overall visual impact is utterly
suburb. The profile shows some light granularity, inherent in the
die. The date is recut on the first three digits, most noticeable
on the 1 and 0, and some light strike doubling is visible on the
letters of the reverse legend, widest on RICA of AMERICA.
A thin die crack descends from the motto ribbon beneath B
of PLURIBUS to the upper left shield tip, through the soft spot
at the wingtip at left, to the arrowheads and on to the lower
left serif of N in UNITED. The crack is barely visible above
the motto ribbon, where it reaches stars 12 and 7, in order,
before dead-ending nearly invisibly into the cloud above stars
1 and 2. The obverse is in its earliest state, still largely reflective,
equivalent to Bass-Dannreuther state a. The reverse is in state b,
the same state it was in through the BD-5 marriage.
President Jefferson’s hope that smaller silver and gold
denominations would not be exported in quantity caused the
United States Mint to cease production of dollars and eagles
after 1804. Neither would be struck for over three decades. Half
eagles, which Jefferson hoped would be less tempting to export
in large quantities, were paid out to large-scale depositors who
formerly would have requested eagles. Mintages of half eagles
ballooned. As many as 33,000 coins with the Draped Bust design
may have been struck before this type was replaced mid-year
by John Reich’s Capped Bust portrait of Liberty While that
number may sound large in the context of early United States
gold coins, the population of modern-day Philadelphia in the
next census (1810) exceeded 87,000 people. Most Americans,
then around 7 million in number, never encountered even a
single half eagle over the course of the year 1807. Those that
did, despite Jefferson’s best wishes, hoarded them in bank vaults
before they were eventually sold to brokers and exported as so
much bullion. Few survived, fewer survived in gem condition.
This example may have the oldest intact provenance for
any example of this date. Before spending four decades in the
Eliasberg Collection, and nearly a half century before that in
the Clapp Collection, this was in the collection of Nicholas
Petry Listed in the 1868 Philadelphia city directory as a
restaurateur, Petry died four years later at the age of 49. By
the time his collection sold in 1893, it was already an old-time
holding. “Nicholas Petry was a gentleman weU known to the
Philadephian of a generation ago,” wrote the Chapman Brothers
in their catalogue of Petry ’s collection, “as a man having a
fondness for collecting the rare and curious ... Since his death
the collection has been deposited now for nearly twenty years
in one of the safe deposit companies’ vaults, and only recently
was it taken out of its obscurity and the coins brought to view
once more.” When Petry died, this coin was but 65 years old.
He would undoubtedly still recognize this coin today
PCGS Population: 7, 1 finer (MS-65 +).
Publications: Breen, Walter. Walter Breen’s Complete
Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Coins, 1988, page 518.
Provenance: Nicholas Petry, Esq. Collection, before 1872; Samuel
Hudson and Henry Chapman’s sale of the Collection of the Eate Nicholas
Petry, Esq., May 1 893, lot 3 1 1; J.M. Clapp; John H. Clapp Collection,
by descent; John H. Clapp Estate; Eouis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, via
Stack’s, 1942; Eouis E. Eliasberg, Jr. , by descent; Bowers and Ruddy’s sale
of the United States Gold Coin Collection (Eliasberg), October 1982,
lot 357; Kevin Eipton; Goliad Corporation (Mike Brownlee), by sale,
August 1984.
Estimate: $30,000 - $40,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 213
UNITED STATES EAGLES 1795-1804
The eagle or $10 gold piece was intended to be the
foundational gold coin in the American monetary system
as outlined in the Mint Act of April 2, 1792. It was the
largest denomination and was the standard against which
fractional coins were measured, the $2.50 quarter eagle
and $5 half eagle being proportionate divisions by weight.
The first gold coins struck were $5 half eagles, made in
July 1795. The $10 eagle coinage followed soon thereafter.
The design of the first eagle issue is similar to that of the
contemporary half eagle and is also by Robert Scot. On
the obverse Miss Liberty is shown wearing a conical or
turban cap, facing right, with stars to the left and right.
The reverse of the 1795 eagle depicts an eagle perched
on a palm branch holding a wreath aloft in its beak. The
inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds.
There is no indication of denomination or value on this
or the subsequent eagle type. During this era, gold coins
of many nations circulated in American commerce, and
their value was determined by a combination of weight
and fineness (purity), various conversion charts being
published from time to time in newspapers and journals.
Eagles made their first appearance in circulation toward
the end of 1795. As nearly aU extant specimens show signs
of wear, it is evident that such pieces saw extensive use in
commerce. Undoubtedly, many were shipped abroad, but
it is likely that most remained in domestic use.
With a total mintage of an estimated 13,000 or more
pieces, eagles of this design type are rare today, and each
and every variety is considered to be a numismatic prize.
The D. Brent Pogue eagles eclipse any prior offering of
the varieties we present and will forever stand as unique
for their quality.
Beginning with coins dated 1797, the Heraldic
Eagle reverse (first used in the gold series on the 1796
$2.50, although an anachronistic $5 of 1795 must be
mentioned) was mated to the obverse style used earlier.
In keeping with silver and other gold denominations
of the 1800 period, the reverse, adapted from the
Great Seal of the United States, depicts an eagle with
a shield on its breast, holding in its talons a bundle of
arrows and an olive branch and in its beak a ribbon
inscribed E PLURIBUS UNUM. A galaxy of stars and
an arc of clouds are above. The inscription UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA surrounds. There is no mark
of denomination or value.
The obverse remained the same as the 1795-1797
style, except that the star configuration varies on
certain issues.
By 1804, it was realized that while many $10 coins
were used domestically, they had increasingly important
use in the export trade, especially to Europe. Continued
coinage of eagles would simply be a service to exporters
and do little for inland commerce. On the other hand,
perhaps the $5 would be less useful in foreign trade and
would be retained in the states, or so the reasoning went.
Accordingly, no $10 coins were made after 1804.
Early Eagle Types 1795-1804
Draped Bust — Small Eagle
1795-1797
Draped Bust — Heraldic Eagle
1797-1804
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 215
179S Bass Dannreuther-3. Ravi
(PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Eagles
Classic 1795 9 Leaves Reverse Rarity
Finest in Private Hands
Lot 2091. 1795 Bass Dannreuther-3. Rarity-6. 9 Leaves. Mint State-63+ (PCGS).
^^This is by far the rarest variety of 1 195 eagle and is far rarer than
either the 1 196 or 1 191 Small Eagle coins. ” — John Dannreuther
Perhaps the most famous rarity among the early eagles, the
D. Brent Pogue 1795 9 Leaves eagle is in an unparalleled state
of preservation, an appropriate starting point for the finest set of
early eagles ever sold at auction. This is the single finest example
certified by PCGS, potentially surpassed by only the Harry Bass
Core Collection coin on display at the American Numismatic
Association Museum. The brightly reflective surfaces show
resounding cartwheel luster, bolder and more frosty on the
obverse than the reverse. Light yellow gold dominates both
sides, though some design elements show attractive copper tones
on their highest relief. The obverse shows scattered fine marks
and lines; while none are particularly notable, we mention a
thin scratch and light abrasion, both under TY of LIBERTY.
Some shallow planchet granularity is seen in the vicinity of
the date. The reverse appears somewhat busier than the obverse
due to similar granularity, noticeable under the wing at left,
above and below the wing at right, and near the top of the
wreath. Mostly obliterated adjustment marks are seen on the
reverse, criss-crossing inside the wreath and under UNITED,
but visible in some proportion over much of the surface area of
that side. The devices remain well-defined, and the distinctive
nine-leaved olive branch that has brought this rarity its fame is
both intact and elegantly depicted. The die state is typical, with
heavy reverse breaks manifesting as buckling at the tip of leaf
2, atop the first T in STATES, and at the first A in AMERICA.
Lapping has hollowed spots near the wingtip at left, inside the
wing at right, and at the upper juncture of the tail to the eagles
leg. The obverse shows raised spalling between the date and star
1 , and lapping has altered the outline of stars 1 , 9, 10, 1 1 , and 15.
The broken state of the reverse, present on all known
specimens, probably explains this variety’s rarity. Most researchers
agree that about 20 specimens are known, several of which are
low grade. The variety was apparently discovered by William H.
Woodin, a student of the early gold series, who recognized it as
a great rarity Waldo Newcomer gave the variety his imprimatur
in 1926 by buying the Woodin specimen for $100, which Walter
Breen suggested “was several times the then going price for
1795s in that grade.” A second specimen was not identified until
1960, when Breen cataloged one for New Netherlands’ 55th
sale, calling it “of extreme desirability as a type coin.” Interest in
the variety grew with the recognition of it as a major type (the
only early eagle with 9 leaves on the reverse) and a major rarity,
though as late as 1980 David Akers reported that “it has never
received any publicity” Its profile is much higher in the present
day John Dannreuther writes in the Bass-Dannreuther book
that “it is one of the most famous die varieties among all early
gold coins — the king of the Small Eagle type.”
Among the 11 records the PCGS Population Report
reflects, undoubtedly representing fewer individual specimens,
three examples of this major variety are listed in grades of MS-
63 and higher. This coin, graded MS-63+, is the finest certified
by either grading service (the sole MS-63 on the NGC Census
is an old entry for this coin). The highest graded piece to ever
sell at public auction was certified as MS-61 (PCGS), offered
in a 2011 sale.
Not every die variety is distinctive enough, or famous
enough, to merit separate mention in places like A Guide Book
of United States Coins. Such distinction comes with broad-based
interest and demand, and no other early eagle variety enjoys
such popularity as the 1795 9 Leaves. The D Brent Pogue
specimen is the finest example that remains in collectors’ hands,
making it a potential crown jewel in any advanced collection of
early United States eagles.
PCGS Population: 1, none finer. (9 Leaves)
Publications: Taraszka, Anthony United States Ten Dollar
Gold Eagles 1195-1804, 1999, p. 17.
Provenance: Superior Galleries^ session of Auction ^89, July
1989, lot 908, via RARCOA.
Estimate: $350,000 - $450,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 217
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Eagles
The Superlative Garrett 1795 13 Leaves Eagle
The Largest Denomination Authorized by the Mint Act of 1792
The Finest Known Example of the First $10 Gold Coin
Lot 2092. 1795 Bass Dannreuther-4. Rarity-5. 13 Leaves. Mint State-66+ (PCGS).
^^The eagle is not a very expressive or apt appellation for the largest
gold piece, hut nothing better occurs. ” — Alexander Hamilton,
On the Establishment of a Mint, 1791
The most glorious 1795 eagle known, this coin is the
single finest survivor from the first year of the largest gold
coin authorized by the Mint Act of 1792. Only a gold rush
of historic proportions, begun in a territory acquired by
the United States after a half century of relentless westward
expansion, was able to displace the eagle from its position atop
the hierarchy of American coinage. Until the 1850 introduction
of the double eagle, there was no larger gold coin struck in
American mints and no higher denomination American coin in
use. This superlative example is generally acknowledged as not
only the finest gold coin from the famous Garrett Collection,
but quite possibly the finest 18th century United States gold
coin in existence.
The satiny surfaces glow with color, embracing the richest
gold with fire-lit hints of deep orange and traces of violet at the
peripheries. Lustrous from every aspect and angle, what appears
to be satiny in raking light becomes deeply reflective when
the light is redirected, and every twist makes lively cartwheel
spin anew. The aesthetic appeal is incontrovertibly ideal, and
all numismatists who have seen this coin will agree that it is,
simply, the ultimate example of the type. An examination with
the assistance of magnification finds no defects of import, a thin
line between the nose and TY of LIBERTY on the obverse
and another line from the top of the wing at left on the reverse
standing in for something more consequential. Some light
hairlines are so inconsequential that mentioning them seems
rude. This coin’s primacy among eagles of its type is secure, no
matter what the standard or whom the examiner. Its position
atop the census will never be surpassed.
Despite the large diameter of the eagle denomination, the
Mint’s coiner did excellent work on his first attempt. The strike
is sound, producing bold details on both sides. Minor adjustment
marks are visible on the eagle’s breast and leg, less noticeable
among the denticles above ICA. An S-shaped lintmark is seen
right of the eagle’s tail, another is less visible passing through
the left foot of A in STATES. Though a piece has chipped
out of the reverse die between OF and AMERICA, creating
a misshapen blob visible on all known examples, the dies are in
fine condition. A thin die crack extends from beyond the upper
point of star 10 to the tops of LIB and the top of the middle
flag of E. The reverse is cracked delicately atop UNITED ST,
with another crack atop ATES and a finer one atop F of OF. A
short crack connects the top right serif of E in AMERICA to
the wingtip at right. Some short, halting lapping lines are seen
among the denticles above CA, and a long delicate arc of a
lapping line touches the foot of R on its way from the denticles
to the center of the wing at right. Other areas, including the
slight cleft at the eagle’s left hip and hollow areas in the upper
left wingpit and in the top center of the wing at right, suggest
light lapping, though the raised lines that would be the primary
evidence are rarely visible on specimens in typical grade.
This is perhaps the most historically important gold coin
in the D Brent Pogue Collection. While the 1854-S half eagle,
an extraordinary rarity with just three specimens known,
symbolizes the California Gold Rush more than any other
coin struck on the West Coast, and the 1795 half eagle (offered
in this catalog) wears the laurel of being the first gold coin
struck in the United States Mint, no other coin symbolizes
the aspirations of the nation and the American economy like
the 1795 eagle. It was an ambitious denomination, one whose
scale and value suggest the goals of America’s place in global
commerce. It was first conceived by Thomas Jefferson, the
author of most initial underpinnings of the American coinage
system. Then serving as one ofVirginia’s delegates to Congress,
Jefferson described the eagle for the first time in his Notes on
the Establishment of a Money Unit and of a Coinage for the United
States, popularly known as his “Notes on Coinage,” written
in the spring of 1784. After explaining why the money unit
should be pegged to the familiar Spanish milled dollar and why
a decimal-based system is easier for both natives and foreigners.
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 219
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II
Thomas Harrison Garrett
T. Harrison Garrett began his collecting interest as a student at Princeton in the 1860s, with
a New Jersey copper being among his first acquisitions. A man from the wealthy family that
controlled the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, he eagerly collected books, autographs, prints, '
and other items, keeping and enjoying them at Evergreen House on North Charles Street
in Baltimore.
In the 1880s he was especially active, with Baltimore dentist and rare coin dealer Dr. George
Massamore representing him at many sales under various pseudonyms including “Hotchkiss,”
“South,” and “Harrison.” Many collectors, particularly advanced ones, kept knowledge of their
holdings and their needs a secret, thus hoping to acquire desired pieces at a lower price than would
be the case if it had been known that they were missing from their cabinets. In 1885, his collection, which by that time
had an 1804 dollar and the unique hallmark-on-breast 1787 Brasher doubloon, was considered to
be second in importance only to that of Lorin G. Parmelee. In actuality, Garrett’s collection was
much broader and included world and ancient coins as well as tokens and medals, while Parmelee
mainly concentrated on obtaining one of each date (but not mintmark varieties) of federal
coinage. In the same year he acquired en bloc the James L. Claghorn collection of over 30,000
prints, paying the then remarkable figure of $150,000 for it.
In 1888, Garrett died in a boating accident in Chesapeake Bay, thus cutting short the career
of a remarkable numismatist and leaving a family to mourn his passing. His collection
passed to his sons and then in 1942 to the Johns Hopkins University. In 1979 the
University contacted our antecedent firm Bowers and Merena Galleries, and after a
competition among four auction houses awarded us the contract to sell the American
coins, tokens, and medals at auction. Q. David Bowers led the project, including
writing The History of American Coinage as Illustrated by the Garrett Collection. The first
printing of about 4,000 copies sold out in a week. Eventually, about 15,000 copies were
distributed, earning many awards along the way. Today this stands as a cornerstone
reference for any American numismatic library.
The collection, which had been appraised at $8.9 million, was offered
by us in a series of four sales in 1979 through 1981, during most of which
time the silver and gold bullion markets were in a slump. Rare coin buyers
and bullion buyers are two separate categories. The sales brought a record-
breaking $25 million! Many of the coins were acquired by D. Brent Pogue.
Jefferson suggested “if we adopt the dollar for our unit, we
should strike four coins, one of gold, two of silver, and one of
copper, viz. 1. a golden piece equal in value to 10 dollars, 2. the
unit or dollar itself of silver, 3. the tenth of a dollar, of silver also,
4. the hundredth of a dollar of copper.” He further explored
his “golden piece” in terms of two coins then common in the
cash boxes of American merchants, the first made in mints in
Portugal and Brazil, the second a standard English gold coin,
noting that the eagle “will be 1/5 more than a half Joe and 1/15
more than a double guinea. It will be readily estimated then by
reference to either of them, but more readily and accurately as
equal to 10 dollars.”
Jefferson did not coin the name “eagle” for his 10 dollar
denomination. In May 1785, Jeffers on submitted his Propositions
Respecting the Coinage of Gold, Silver, and Copper, in which
he referred to the largest gold coin of the newly-independent
republic as the “crown,” an ironic choice that first appears in
Gouverneur Morris’ 1783 writings regarding a very different
coinage scheme. Jefferson wasn’t terribly fond of the title, as
he remarked “as to the names above chosen, they, like all other
names, are arbitrary, and better may perhaps be substituted.” A
letter from Jefferson to William Carmichael, dated November 4,
1785, reveals the question of denominations had still not been
decided. Virginia delegate James Monroe reported to Jefferson,
then in Paris, in January 1786 that “the subject of the mint ...
will be taken up again so soon as we have 9 or 10 states (for
at present we have but 7).” It took eight more months, but
Congress finally came to a resolution on a coinage system on
August 8, 1786, declaring that the coin “equal to ten dollars, to
be stamped with the impression of the American eagle [would]
be called An Eagle.”
Not everyone loved the name. Edmund Pendleton, a
Virginia planter and politician, wrote to James Madison in
December 1786 to complain about the new federal government
220 STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Eagles
prerogative to coin money, a power formerly held by the
states. He preferred the former system by which the central
government merely regulated the value of the coins then
circulating, “leaving it to each [state] to coin any bullion they
might fortunately meet with at home and in such pieces as their
convenience should direct, whether in Eagles or Sparrows, so
they conformed to the rules prescribed.” Alexander Hamilton,
befitting his reputation, was more direct, writing in his 1791
report “On the Establishment of a Mint” that “the eagle is not a
very expressive or apt appellation for the largest gold piece, but
nothing better occurs.” More by inertia than delight, the name
remained. So too did the denomination, coined until 1933 but
first struck in September 1795.
This coin appears to have survived the adolescence of the
American republic far from home, in Germany. It was acquired
by T. Harrison Garrett from Ed. Frossards 1880 sale of the
cabinet of George Stenz, a numismatist from Hanover, Germany
who “had made large and costly additions to the original stock”
of other old-time collections. According to WiUiam Strobridge,
who went blind soon after composing the enormous first Stenz
catalog of 1875 (and, some sources say, because of it), “a large
part of it [was] formed by Dr. E Viewieg, of Berlin, Prussia”
while “its foundation was laid from the collections of Baron
Welzl von Wellenheim ofVienna; Prince of Pless, Berlin; Baron
of Schultheiss Rechberg; and Mr. K.Vander Chijs, Amsterdam.”
Predictably, the Stenz Collection consisted largely of German
coins, but coins of other nations, including the United States,
were included. The 1875 Stenz sale included a 1795 half eagle,
a 1797 eagle, and 10 other pre-1834 United States gold coins,
along with territorial rarities like an 1849 Oregon $5 and
an 1849 Mormon $5. The Stenz 1804 quarter dollar, called
“quite superior to any heretofore known to exist,” brought
the stunning sum of $50. The 1880 sale cataloged by Frossard
included more rare American coins, including a complete 1843
Proof set that brought $100 and a set of the half dime, dime,
and quarter of 1796 that brought $29, $14, and $27, respectively.
The collections that preceded Viewieg and Stenz included
some of the most notable ever formed in Europe. That of
Leopold Welzl von Wellenheim, sold in 1845 and 1846, has
been described by David Fanning as “a remarkable collection,
on the whole approaching 50,000 coins and medals.” While
he gathered American items such as a 1796 dollar, various early
American coppers, a Massachusetts Pine Tree shilling, and a
Libertas Americana medal, von Wellenheim s cabinet does not
appear to have included a 1795 eagle. It remains unknown
where the Stenz-Garrett 1795 $10 spent the early 19th century,
but the collection of a German nobleman seems like a decided
possibility. American coins have long been collected in Germany
and Austria, and many remarkable 18th century pieces remain
in museums there (including an extremely rare 1794 half
dollar struck in copper in the cabinet of the Kunsthistorisches
Museum inVienna.)
Not knowing who took this coin to Europe, it is tempting
to imagine a German doppelganger of William Strickland, the
English traveler who visited the United States in 1794 and 1795
and returned to England with the small group of coins that
would later become known as the Lord St. Oswald Collection,
described earlier in this catalog. No such personality has yet
emerged, though enough tantalizing clues exist that some
researcher may identify him someday. We likewise don’t know
exactly who carried the Sarah Sophia Banks specimen of the
1795 eagle off to England, though we do know it was donated
to the British Museum soon after her death in 1818.The Banks
coin, a Bass Dannreuther-1, is occasionally referred to as the
only 1795 eagle that is close in quality to the fabulous Garrett
coin, offered here. The Banks example is lovely, though showing
a scratch from 6:00 to 8:00 on the reverse that would seemingly
leave the Garrett-Pogue coin’s place of primacy unchallenged.
Aside from their quality, this coin and the Sarah Sophia Banks
coin seem to have a similar travel history in common: both were
saved when new and taken to Europe as an example of the first
large American gold coin. Since reappearing on the American
continent, this coin has graced only two collections, the Garrett
Collection and that of D. Brent Pogue.
There are a few other high quality 1795 eagles known, but
none compare to the Garrett-Pogue specimen, which David
Hall has referred to as “the one monster MS-66.” Despite claims
otherwise, there is no similar coin at Mount Vernon, nor was
there one in Washington’s well documented estate. The Mint
Cabinet 1795 eagle, said to be saved by Adam Eckfeldt though
no documentation of that fact exists, appears instead to be a
lightly circulated piece that was plucked from a later bullion
deposit. In simple terms, this is the most important surviving
gold coin struck at the Philadelphia Mint in the 18th century.
Most experts would be hard-pressed to identify another
contender, even for the sake of conversation. It deserves every
one of the untold numbers of breathless encomia heaped upon
it since its existence was revealed to modern numismatists at
the Garrett sale of 1980. This elegant eagle is a national treasure.
PCGS Population: 1, none finer. (13 leaves)
Publications: Bowers, Q. David. The History of United States
Coinage, As Illustrated by the Garrett Collection, 1979. Depicted
on Color Plate 31. Breen, Walter. Walter Breen’s Complete
Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Coins, 1988, p. 545.
Taraszka, Anthony. United States Ten Dollar Gold Eagles 1 195-
1564, 1999, p. 19.
Provenance: George Stenz Collection; Ed Frossard’s sale of
the Stenz Collection of Modern Coins, Medals and Tokens, February
1880, lot 636; T Harrison Garrett Collection; T Harrison Garrett
to Robert and John Work Garrett, by descent, 1888; Robert Garrett
interest to John Work Garrett, 1919; transfer completed 1921; John
Work Garrett to The Johns Hopkins University, by gift, 1 942; Bowers
and Ruddy’s sale of the Garrett Collection, Part III, October 1980,
lot 1655.
Estimate: $750,000 - $1,200,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 221
1196 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-4. Mint State-62+ (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Eagles
Choice Low Mintage 1796 Eagle
The Only Die Variety of the Year
Dannreuther-1. Rarity-4. Mint State-62+ (PCGS).
Lot 2093. 1796 Bass
^^This date is much rarer than 1 195 though seldom appreciated as
such. ” — Walter Breen
Struck with 16 stars to mark Tennessee’s entry into the Union,
the 1796 eagle is underappreciated for both its scarcity and its
historical importance. Light yellow gold with an impressive
degree of luster, lightly reflective on both sides. Coppery toning
highlights the devices, well struck everywhere but the extreme
centers and showcasing many fine details. Aside from minor
hairlines, few distractions are present, and scrutiny finds only a
light abrasion above the left end of the olive branch and a neat
row of four contact points in the upper left reverse field. Some
natural planchet chips are seen, including a concentration at the
right end of the olive branch near ICA of AMERICA. Minor
adjustment marks are seen on the chest of the eagle, though
the shadows of parallel lines can be seen elsewhere in the fields.
The Mint Director’s Report for 1796 offers an interesting
view into the internal processes of the United States Mint.
Queried relentlessly by Congress, Elias Boudinot admitted his
disappointment at the “opinion generally prevailing, that the
establishment is unnecessarily expensive, and less productive
than was rationally expected by its advocates and friends.” To
combat that attitude, Boudinot attempted to make the Mint’s
inner functions as transparent as possible, revealing to Congress
the names of those who deposited bullion to be struck, the
size and form of each deposit, and other details. The data he
submitted to Congress exposed many inefficiencies at the Mint,
including the expense borne entirely by the Mint (and, thus,
the nation) to refine low purity deposits, the idle hours waiting
for bullion to be deposited since no mechanism existed for the
Mint to purchase its own, and the learning curve that striking
precious metal coinage required.
Boudinot also discovered that the United States Mint had
competition from American counterfeiters who produced gold
coins for export to the West Indies, revealed “by a number of
new half-johannes brought to the Mint for assaying, said to
have been coined in the United States.” Purporting to be
Brazilian or Portuguese gold coins, these counterfeits had
earlier come to the notice of Boudinot’s predecessor, Henry
William DeSaussure, who complained in 1795 that “so much
of the gold bullion which would be brought to the national
mint is carried to these private establishments, which degrade
our national character.” These counterfeiting operations, “said
to be boldly erected at Baltimore and elsewhere,” according to
DeSaussure, undoubtedly drained away gold that would have
otherwise been turned into 1796 eagles. Considering that every
additional deposit cost the Mint money in assaying and refining
costs, this may have been better for the institution, however, it
resulted in the rarity of coins like this today.
As on all known 1796 eagles, a heavy vertical die crack bisects
the portrait of Liberty, extending above her head at top and to
the bust truncation at bottom. Clashing is visible on both sides,
widespread but light, equivalent to Bass-Dannreuther obverse
state c and reverse state b. Only one die variety of this date
is known, a combination that produced somewhere between
3,500 and 4,146 pieces. Of the specimens known today, most
show significant wear, and few boast strong originality. Mint
State examples are offered infrequently, and rarely show good
eye appeal. There has never been a PCGS-certified 1796 eagle
sold at auction with a higher grade than this one.
PCGS Population: 1,2 finer (MS-63).
Publications: Akers, David W. United States Gold Coins: An
Analysis of Auction Records, Volume V, Eagles 1795-1933, 1980, p.
4. Taraszka, Anthony. United States Ten Dollar Gold Eagles 1 795-
1804, 1999, p. 23.
Provenance: Bowers and Ruddy’s sale of the Dr. William A.
Bartlett Collection, November 1979, lot 2788; Paramount’s session of
Auction ’80, August 1980, lot 950.
Estimate: $125,000 - $175,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 223
1191 Bass Dannreuther-1. Ravity-S.
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Eagles
Very Rare Mint State 1797 Eagle
The Last of the Small Eagle $10s
Lot 2094. 1797 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-5. Small Eagle. Mint State-61 (PCGS).
‘^You seem to be fully convinced of the propriety of attending to
beauty in coinage ... jJean-Pierre Droz] is much in favor of the idea
of representing an eagle on the coins & particularly the large gold
piece. This bird all the artists consider as the most proper for presenting
a fine form. For that purpose however it would be necessary to remove
those heraldic parts which cover the body in the arms of the U. S.
— William Short to Alexander Hamilton, August 23, 1791
This is an especially lively specimen of the last Small Eagle
$10 gold piece. Coppery toning with hints of violet gathers at
the peripheries of both sides, embracing highly lustrous deep
yellow gold surfaces. The cartwheel luster is strong on both
sides, most profound just inside the rims. A layer of hairlines is
visible on both sides, accounting for the grade as assigned, but
the visual appeal well exceeds the numerical grade. Very few
marks of consequence are noted, even under a glass. A thin line
extends from the bust truncation past the tip of Liberty’s nose
to under ER of LIBERTY, and a few minor scratches gather left
of the second A in AMERICA. Despite the lines, a fine original
look remains intact, and the detail far surpasses that seen on
most survivors from this rare die marriage.
Light adjustment marks are noted at the central obverse,
mostly running together though strands criss-cross behind the
corner of Liberty’s eye. Shallower vestiges of adjustment are
visible throughout the fields, joined by scattered light planchet
chips that are most evident behind Liberty’s head. An impressive
die crack from the rim below star 16 toward Liberty’s throat
catches the eye immediately, but other fainter die cracks are
only found with a glass. One connects the crack from star 16
to the tip of Liberty’s bust, another delicately strings along the
tops of LIB in LIBERTY, and a vertically oriented crack begins
at star 16 before disappearing into the field above. A short crack
closes the open top of the reverse wreath, mostly hidden among
the leaves. The hollow leaf at the left top of the wreath and
some fine lines on the lower right serif of E in STATES suggests
some light lapping in this area.
Following the 1795 and 1796 issues, this is the very last of
the Small Eagle $10s and, as David Akers noted in 1980, “it is
decidedly the rarest of the three.” Historians may never know
what inspired the fairly scrawny interpretation of an eagle
gripping a wreath in its beak, but it was replaced after just two
years with an eagle that closely resembled the one found on the
Great Seal, complete with 13 stars above its head and the motto
E PLURIBUS UNUM. Thomas Jefferson’s longtime secretary,
William Short, was in Paris when he wrote to Alexander
Hamilton in 1791, reporting that the Swiss-born engraver and
engineer Jean-Pierre Droz was interested in designing the future
coins of the United States Mint. Jefferson had met Droz in Paris
in 1786 and been impressed with his novel coining press, but
Droz’s continued flirtations with the Americans may be viewed
with two centuries of hindsight primarily as leverage in his
relationship with his once and future boss, Matthew Boulton of
Birmingham, England. Jefferson’s affection for Droz’s ideas was
strong enough to make us wonder today if the preference for a
Small Eagle design versus a Heraldic Eagle design was his own,
echoing the thoughts that Droz had espoused to Short, one of
his closest friends, a few years earlier.
All 1797 eagles with the Small Eagle design were coined from
a single set of dies. The mintage was tiny, widely publicized as
3,615 pieces but estimated at a lower range of 1,250 to 3,615 in
the Bass-Dannreuther book. Of the 60 or so that have survived
to the present day, most show significant handling, and coins
with strong visual appeal are very rare. PCGS has certified two
Mint State specimens, this being the lone finest certified.
PCGS Population: 1, none finer. (Small Eagle)
Provenance: Goliad Corporation (Mike Brownlee), by sale,
September 1978.
Estimate: $125,000 - $175,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 225
1797 Bass Danmeuthev-4. Ranty-4+. Heraldic Eagle. Mint State-63 (PCGS)
if
TW
iT Ufll*
it
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Eagles
Majestic 1797 Heraldic Eagle $10
The Debut of the New Type
Lot 2095. 1797 Bass Dannreuther-4. Rarity-4+. Heraldic Eagle. Mint State-63 (PCGS).
^‘Recd.from J[ohn] Barnes 500 D. in eagles and half eagles” —
Thomas Jefferson’s Memorandum Books, June 30, 1191
An exceptional specimen of this issue, this piece is brightly
lustrous and superbly detailed on both sides. Hints of deep
yellow toning, verging on coppery orange, surround some
peripheral design elements, adding interest to chiefly light
yellow gold surfaces. The obverse has retained some evidence
of handling, including some minor hairlines and scattered light
marks, with only a short scrape hidden between Liberty’s cap
and the base of L in LIBERTY meriting mention. The reverse
is of gem quality, bright and somewhat reflective, spectacularly
preserved. Liberty’s cheek shows some granularity, common to
all examples from these dies, and the details of her profile are
a bit rounded and soft, again typical of the variety A scattering
of tiny planchet chips are seen, including two short lintmarks
between the forecurl and TY of LIBERTY and a larger one
close to Liberty’s hair parallel to star 2. A longer lintmark is
hidden in Liberty’s hair. An extremely thin planchet striation,
looking somewhat like a die crack, extends vertically from the
right wingpit to the olive leaves closest to the shield. The central
obverse hides a few subtle adjustment marks well, and they do
not appear prominently anywhere else.
This is one of just a few examples struck from a perfect state
of the reverse die, another of which is impounded in the ANS
collection. The obverse is cracked, like all of this variety, boldly
cracked through the second 7 of the date with a lighter die crack
paralleling its path from the tip of the flag to near its base. A
defect in the die surface appears to erupt from the obverse field
left of star 12. Lapping has truncated the inner points of the stars
on the left side of the obverse, giving them a somewhat distorted
appearance.The reverse is fresh, unclashed, and uncracked, lacking
the usually seen cracks at R and C of AMERICA.
One of the first Philadelphians to see a specimen of the new
Heraldic Eagle reverse eagle was John Barnes, a local merchant
who served as Jefferson’s banker. Born in England, he was based
in Philadelphia from the mid 1770s until 1800, when he moved
to Georgetown, near the new capital. Jeflerson appointed him
the collector of customs for the port of Georgetown in 1806. On
occasion, Jefferson asked Barnes to acquire coins for him at the
Mint, including coins produced from metal he had deposited, as
with the “dismes and half dimes” Jefferson received on June 30,
1797. On the same date, Barnes acquired $500 worth of newly
minted half eagles and eagles for Jeflerson, likely from the batch
delivered on July 29, as new as could be. Breen’s 1966 monograph
on eagles suggested that the first $10 gold pieces of the Heraldic
Eagle design were among the June 7 delivery of 1,907 coins,
meaning the design Jefferson saw on July 30 was less than a
month old when he was handed a purse fuU of them.
By studying die states, researchers have discovered that the
coins from this particular die marriage were actually struck after
the two die marriages dated 1798/7. The 1797 BD-3 variety is
struck using a reverse die that was also used on the 1798/7 Stars
7x6 variety, but the reverse die is more worn on the 1797-dated
coins than those dated 1798. This variety uses the same obverse
as 1797 BD-3, but it is likewise in a later state in this usage.
While precise dates or deliveries are difficult to assign, these die
marriages can be placed on a continuum in correct order, and
this variety belongs to calendar year 1798. This sort of research
was pioneered by Harry W Bass who, by the time this coin came
on the market in 1981, had already acquired an example of this
important and rare die state, purchased in the John A. Beck sale
of 1975. When that specimen sold in our Bass IV sale of 2000, it
was graded MS-61 (PCGS).
Since the sale of the Bass coin 15 years ago, only two PCGS
MS-62s and a single PCGS MS-63 have come to market.
This one has reposed peacefully in the Pogue Collection for
nearly 35 years, during which time there has not been a single
opportunity to upgrade it.
PCGS Population: 3, 1 finer (MS-63+). (Large Eagle)
Publications: Taraszka, Anthony United States Ten Dollar
Gold Eagles 1195-1804, 1999, p. 31.
Provenance: RARCOA’s session of Auction ’81, July 1981,
lot 456.
Estimate: $50,000 - $75,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 227
1798/7 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-4+. Stars 9x4. Mint State- 62 + (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Eagles
The Clapp-Eliasberg 1798/7 9x4 Stars Eagle
9 Stars Left, 4 Stars Right
Lot 2096. 1798/7 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-4+. Stars 9x4. Mint State-62+ (PCGS).
‘^The Clapp Collection was not only nearly complete, it contained
coins of extraordinary quality ” — David Hall
One of the most extraordinary quality specimens known
of this rare eagle issue, the D. Brent Pogue coin is enriched
by its provenance to the Clapp and Eliasberg collections.
Spectacularly lustrous and deeply reflective, both sides of this
coin show stunning revolving cartwheel luster. The very picture
of originality, this piece’s luxurious deep yellow gold toning
serves as a standard against which other early eagles can be
compared. Light green highlights are found in proper light, as
are subtle splashes of coppery orange. The strike is strong for
the issue, one that is found bluntly struck more often than not;
while this piece is not completely detailed at center, most finer
aspects of the designs are clear.The obverse fields show scattered
fine marks and light hairlines, but only a tiny dig between the
lips and star 10 and a pinpoint contact mark hugging star 3
require mention. The reverse is immaculate, beautiful, and crisp.
Adjustment marks underlie the reverse star cluster in subtle
fashion, and a few small lintmarks gather at RI of AMERICA.
The overdate is plainly seen under low magnification, and
though the central portion of the 7 underdigit was lapped away,
its flag and base remain. The obverse is cracked through L of
LIBERTY to center, arcing to the back of Liberty’s hair and
reappearing in the lower left field before it disappears harmlessly
into the flat. Another crack runs from the rim through the
upright of R to the forecurl. Where these two cracks join,
another very delicate crack begins, exiting the portrait just
below Liberty’s lips. A clash mark from the shield on reverse
appears on Liberty’s cap and temple, and vertical lapping lines
appear lower on her portrait. On the reverse, fine cracks connect
the tops of UNITED, but most vestiges of clashing have been
polished away, surviving only at the upper tips of the shield.
When the agreement was made between Stack’s and Louis
Eliasberg, the acquisition of the entire Clapp Collection was the
largest single numismatic transaction in history. At a price tag
of $100,000, thousands of United States and world coins were
purchased at once, a giant leap forward in Eliasberg’s pursuit to
become to first man to complete the entire series of United
States coins. Many duplicates were sold off over time, including
another 1798/7 9x4 Stars eagle that was sold in Stack’s October
1947 H.R. Lee sale, titled with a pseudonym that incorporated
the initials of Louis Eliasberg and his mother. The lower grade
piece had been acquired only months earlier from B. Max
Mehl’s January 1942 auction. Described as having a Very Fine
obverse and an Extremely Fine reverse, its modern whereabouts
have not been traced.
The eagles of 1798 have long been accorded respect as the
rarest date in the early eagle series. Most survivors are heavily
handled, and genuinely Uncirculated pieces are highly elusive.
The Garrett coin is perhaps the finest known; it remains in the
permanent Harry Bass Core Collection. Tied with this piece
is the Amon Carter coin, also graded MS-62+ by PCGS. The
published mintage figure of 900 pieces is predicated on the
assumption that the entire February 17, 1798 delivery of eagles
were coins of this variety, perhaps true, though the question
is unresolvable. The Dannreuther-Bass reference estimates the
mintage at 1,200 to 1,600 coins, of which 80 to 100 survive in
all states of preservation. PCGS has graded a specimen of this
variety on just 34 occasions. They have never graded one finer
than this.
PCGS Population: 2, none finer. (1798/7 9X4 Stars)
Publications: Bowers, Q. David. United States Gold Coins:
An Illustrated History, 1982. Plated on Color Plate IS.Taraszka,
Anthony. United States Ten Dollar Gold Eagles 1795-1804, 1999,
p. 33.
Provenance: Probably acquired by J.M. Clapp, before 1906;
John H. Clapp Collection, by descent; John H. Clapp Estate; Eouis
E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, via Stack’s, 1942; Eouis E. Eliasberg, Jr. ,
by descent; Bowers and Ruddy’s sale of the United States Gold Coin
Collection (Eliasberg), October 1982, lot 649.
Estimate: $125,000 - $175,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 229
1798/7 Bass Dannreuther-2. Rarity-6-. Stars 7x6. Mint State-61 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Eagles
The Celebrated Garrett 1798/7 7x6 Stars Eagle
7 Stars Left, 6 Stars Right
Lot 2097. 1798/7 Bass Dannreuther-2. Rarity-6-. Stars 7x6. Mint State-61 (PCGS).
have made it a point in my collecting always to buy the very finest
pieces for they are the most satisfactory and becoming more difficult
to obtain every year. ” — Harold P. Newlin to T. Harrison Garrett,
October 29, 1884
The magnificent Garrett coin, with a provenance extending
130 years into the past, reappears here for the first time in three
and a half decades. Beautifully toned throughout, the rich
yellow gold surfaces show fine pale green highlights and shades
of copper. Imbued with remarkable luster on both sides, both
reflective and cartwheeling, this piece is particularly satiny on
the reverse. With unimpeachable originality, the D. Brent Pogue
example ranks high in the census of the few survivors known
from these dies, thought to number no more than 30 and perhaps
as few as half that figure. The obverse is peppered with light
marks and abrasions, including a group of short scrapes in the
center of the left obverse field and a horizontal abrasion between
Liberty’s nose and star 9. The reverse is exceptionally clean and
shows only a few light marks. The strike is good, perhaps not
complete but certainly above average for this issue. The overdate
is easily seen, as any attempts to efface the 7 underdigit were half-
hearted at best. No adjustment marks are prominent, and a single
well formed lintmark is spotted between RI of AMERICA.
Gently cracked through the upright of E, this specimen
was struck from a very early die state. A usually seen crack
through the southwest two points of star 7 is barely visible here,
extending only from the denticle to the point closest to it, a
mere larva of what it will become. A die flaw has chipped away,
appearing as an erupted blob below star 1. On the reverse, the
tops of UNITED are joined with thin cracks, the same state
of this reverse as is found on its previous marriage, the 1798/7
Stars 9x4 as offered in the previous lot.
Researcher SaulTeichman has identified 16 ownership chains
for this variety, each representing a discrete specimen. None of
those provenance histories extend earlier than this one, which
can be traced to the collection of Harold P. Newlin before
October 1884. Anthony Taraszka’s research concluded that
“about fifteen specimens are positively attributed,” adding that
this rarity is “considered by many as the most highly prized eagle
variety”The commonly published mintage figure for the 1798/7
7x6 Stars is a paltry 842 coins, though the Dannreuther-Bass
work has hedged that downward to the range of 300 to 842
pieces. The 842 figure comes from the delivery data for the year
1798: Warrant 109 delivered 900 pieces to the Mint treasurer on
February 17 and Warrant 110 delivered another 842 pieces on
February 28. Unfortunately, the truth is not as easily resolvable
as these numbers may indicate. Four January 1798 deliveries of
eagles totaled 6,232 coins. Most of these were probably dated
1797, but some could have been dated 1798/7. Two varieties of
1797 eagles are known to have been struck after the two 1798/7
varieties, verifiable by die state study The reverse of this variety
appears in a later state on one 1797 variety, whose obverse is then
used in a later state on another 1797 variety These 1797-dated
eagles thus factor into the tally of eagles delivered in February
1798, suggesting the delivery of 842 pieces has a very low
probability of representing this variety and no others. Calculating
an exact mintage is beyond the information contained in the
original documents that have survived. David Akers has suggested
that this variety is “two or three times as rare as the 1798/7 9x4
Stars,” and both of the 1797 eagles that were actually struck in
1798 are less elusive as well.
PCGS Population: 2, 1 finer (MS-62). (1798/7 7X6 Stars)
Publications: Bowers, Q. David. The History of United
States Coinage, As Illustrated by the Garrett Collection, 1979, p. 450.
Depicted on Color Plate 31. Akers, David W United States Gold
Coins : An Analysis of Auction Records, Volume If Eagles 1795-1933,
1980. Depicted on page lO.Taraszka, Anthony United States Ten
Dollar Gold Eagles 1795-1804, 1999,p. 35.
Provenance: Harold P Newlin Collection; Harold P Newlin,
by sale, October 31, 1884;T Harrison Garrett Collection ;T Harrison
Garrett to Robert and fohn Work Garrett, by descent, 1888; Robert
Garrett interest to fohn Work Garrett, 1919; transfer completed 1921;
fohn Work Garrett to The fohns Hopkins University, by gift, 1942;
Bowers and Ruddy’s sale of the Garrett Collection, Part III, October
1980, lot 1660.
Estimate: $175,000 - $250,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 231
1199 Bass Dannreuther-7. Rarity-3. Small Obverse Si
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Eagles
The George H. Earle, Jr. - John A. Beck 1799 Eagle
Tied for Finest Certified of the Small Obverse Stars Type
Lot 2098. 1799 Bass Dannreuther-7. Rarity-3. Small Obverse Stars. Mint State-64+ (PCGS).
it ever reaches the auction room, it will create something of a
sensation. ” — Moorhead B. Holland of the People’s Savings and
Trust Company of Pittsburgh, executor of the
John A. Beck Estate, February 1925
A majestic prize, profoundly lustrous and spectacularly
preserved, this is one of the prettiest and finest eagles of this
type anywhere. Considering its century-old provenance to one
of the most famous cabinets ever formed, its quality is perhaps
unsurprising, but it remains extraordinary Light orange toning
gathers at the rims and around some design elements, more
profound on the reverse than the obverse. An immense measure
of satiny luster brightly swirls over both sides. The devices
are heavily frosted and well detailed. The vestiges of planchet
preparation run parallel and vertical on both sides, but there is
not a significant adjustment mark to be seen. Both obverse and
reverse are free of major marks and show a near total absence
of the usually encountered hairlines. A few little marks gather
beneath star 9, and a very shallow abrasion descends from the
corner of Liberty’s eye. The reverse hides a light abrasion amidst
the clouds beneath the space between STATES and OF, and a
tiny rim defect dots the I of UNITED. A few small lintmarks
are seen, including ones above star 5 and beneath I of UNITED,
and a natural lamination is barely visible above the first T of
STATES.
Both dies are crisp, uncracked, and unclashed. Some very
light crumbling has begun at the die edge, at the base of the
denticles, above stars 1 and 2. The reverse is lapped from its
previous marriage, hollowing UM of UNUM and truncating
some clouds, but has not yet clashed.
This coin has spent the entire preceding century in just
three collections, each legendary for their own reasons. The
George H. Earle, Jr. Collection was the most valuable cabinet
of American coins ever sold when it went under the hammer
in 1912. Offered by Henry Chapman and considered one of
the crowning achievements in his career, the Earle sale realized
$55,821.63, a record that wasn’t broken until Chapman’s
enormous 1921 John Story Jenks sale. Earle was a connoisseur
of both quality and rarity, and many coins from his fine cabinet
have been incorporated, decades later, into the D Brent Pogue
Collection. This coin seems to have been acquired from the
Earle sale by one of the great auction bidders of his day, John
A. Beck, a wealthy Pittsburgher who could be said with more
accuracy to have amassed a collection rather than accumulated
one. In his ardor to keep other bidders honest on his favorite
coin, the 1856 Flying Eagle cent, he acquired over 500 of them,
mostly one at a time. Though Beck died in 1924, the first
auction of coins from his estate took place more than a half
century later. In the January 1975 Beck I sale, 11 1799 eagles
were sold, described as “the finest and largest group ever sold at
public auction.”This piece, the second of the 1 1, realized far and
away the highest price ($6,000), with more typical Uncirculated
coins bringing half as much. Acquired for the D Brent Pogue
Collection in 1980, it has remained ever since among the finest
date and major variety set of early United States eagles ever
formed.
As noted in the Bass-Dannreuther book on early United
States gold coins, “there are eight Small Star obverse and two
Large Star obverse varieties among the 10 different for 1799.
This is the most varieties of any early eagle, and only the 1803
has more than six.” Of those eight die marriages with small
stars on the obverse, nearly all are rare; this is the only one not
rated Rarity-5 or higher. While many Mint State examples have
been certified, PCGS has never seen a gem. The D Brent Pogue
specimen is tied with one other as finest known.
PCGS Population: 2, none finer. (Small Stars Obverse)
Provenance: George H. Earle, Jr. Collection; Henry Chapman’s
sale of the George H. Earle, Jr. Collection, June 1912, lot 2291;
John A. Beck Collection, before 1924; John A. Beck Estate; Abner
Kreisberg’s sale of the John A. Beck Collection, January 1975, lot
499; New England Rare Coin Galleries James Halperin), by sale,
August 1980.
Estimate: $100,000 - $150,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 233
1199 Bass Dannreuther-10. Rarity-3. Large Obverse Stars. Mint State-65+ (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Eagles
Spectacular Gem 1799 Large Obverse Stars $10
From the F.C.C. Boyd and Oliver Jung Collections
Lot 2099. 1799 Bass Dannreuther-10. Rarity-3. Large Obverse Stars. Mint State-65+ (PCGS).
passionate, exceptionally knowledgeable collector, he dabbled in
coin dealing on the side. He collected expensive coins, cheap coins,
banknotes, tokens, and medals; he knew what he had and was only
too happy to share. ” — David Tripp, on
Frederick Charles Cogswell Boyd, Illegal Tender^ 2004
A treasure and a gem, this eagle ranks among the very finest
examples of the entire type. The thoroughly satiny obverse is
deep yellow gold with hints of orange at the periphery, creamier
maize yellow with hints of sea green in the fields, and lighter
on the frosty, contrasting portrait. The reverse is a deeper yellow
gold with abundant coppery orange toning, an ideal shade that
alights with reflectivity. Liberty’s cheek and profile is perfectly
immaculate, and the fields show only the most minor lines and
contact points, none more serious than the minuscule nick
between the chin and star 12. The reverse is similarly clear of
faults, with just a little abrasion seen to the lower left of star
5. The strike is of premier quality, fully realized at centers, on
every star, and across every feather. The detail is nothing short
of magnificent. The dies are fresh and unflawed, with no cracks
or clashes. Lapping lines are seen in and near Liberty’s lowest
curl. The only evidence of adjustment marks comes at the very
highest relief of the entire coin, at the tip of Liberty’s cap.
The United States Mint was fighting for its life in this
era, continually condemned by Congress for failing to supply
enough coin, though 17,000 eagles were coined in calendar
year 1799 and others with this date were coined into 1800 as
well. Deemed too expensive for its meager output, the Mint was
threatened with shutdown due to factors beyond its control, most
enshrined in the institution’s founding legislation. “Though the
coining of gold and silver may, at times, be deemed expedient,”
a Congressional committee reported in March 1800, “there
will still remain a doubt as to the propriety of keeping up the
present mint establishment.” Coins like this, so perfectly struck,
up to the standards of beauty then typical in many European
mints, may make modern collectors wonder if each one was a
resume in metal intended to be seen by disdainful congressmen.
Despite his hard work at righting the ship. Mint Director Elias
Boudinot could only soldier on and hope a legislative framework
more friendly to the Mint could be erected. “The Director is
sorry to observe,” said Boudinot in his 1799 Annual Report, “that
the practice of melting down the coin of the United States, by
workmen in gold and silver, is, he fears, becoming too common,
to the manifest loss of the United States.”The coins his employees
worked so hard to produce were disappearing faster than they
were being struck. Survivors like this one became elusive quickly
By the 20th century, few remained. Even fewer survived in
gem condition, though more 1799 eagles are found in high
grade than perhaps any other date in the early series. This
was the specimen chosen by EC.C. Boyd, one of the greatest
collectors of the century, a numismatist whose passion for coins
began before World War I and continued until his death in 1958.
His cabinet of federal issue coins was primarily sold in several
auctions conducted in 1945 and 1946 by Numismatic Gallery,
the partnership of Abe Kosoff and Abner Kreisberg, then located
on East 50th Street in New York. Boyd continued to collect
other numismatic specialties, including paper money, medals,
tokens, early American coins, and Latin American coins, many
of which formed the basis of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection
after Boyd’s passing. The Boyd collection contained many of the
great rarities of the US. series, including an 1804 dollar, 1854-S
$5, and even a 1933 $20 (which he surrendered to the Secret
Service on June 18, 1945). More common coins were acquired
in the finest condition and upgraded whenever possible.
Today, improving upon the quality of this specimen would
be extremely difficult. Only a single specimen of this date has
ever been certified finer by PCGS.
PCGS Population: 2, 1 finer (MS-66). (Large Stars
Obverse)
Publications: Breen, Walter. United States Eagles, 1966, p. 21.
Provenance: F.C.C. Boyd Collection; Numismatic Gallery’s
(Abe Kosoff and Abner Kreisberg) sale of the World’s Greatest
Collection of U.S. Gold Coins (F.C.C. Boyd), January 1946, lot
634; Oliver Jung Collection; American Numismatic Rarities’ sale of
the Oliver Jung Collection, July 2004, lot 99.
Estimate: $175,000 - $250,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 235
1199 Bass Dannreuther-10. Rarity-3. Large Obverse Stars. Mint State-63 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Eagles
Another Gem 1799 Large Obverse Stars Eagle
The Catherine Bullowa Collection Coin
Lot 2100. 1799 Bass Dannreuther-10. Rarity-3. Large Obverse Stars. Mint State-65 (PCGS).
realized I was amid scholars in a challenging field. ”
— Catherine Bullowa, recalling her 1951
entry into the world of numismatics, 1971
Only a truly extraordinary collection could include a
duplicate like this, a second superb gem specimen of the 1799
Large Stars eagle. This one glows with satiny obverse luster,
smoothly layered amidst rich yellow gold surfaces and their
highlights of pale green and subtle orange. The look of the
reverse is similar, with matching lustre and color that deepens
at the lower periphery. The strike is as superb as the previous
specimen, showing a full range of details from the broad curves
of Liberty’s portrait to the finest graver strokes in the individual
eagle feathers. The surfaces are fresh and original, showing just a
trivial scattering of wispy lines and a few inconsequential marks
or abrasions. Star 7 finds itself between a light abrasion above it
and a tiny contact point below it. Another fine abrasion is seen
in the lower right obverse field, above star 13, and a shallow
scuff is noted beneath IT of UNITED. Some haze sits atop the
surface of the upper reverse, subtly visible inside the shield and
under the motto banner, more notable among the star cluster,
where some raised specks within the material have the look
of being tiny planchet flaws until the proper light reveals their
relief. The dies are uncracked, having struck this coin early in
their useful lives.
After more than a half century in numismatics, Catherine
Bullowa offered what she billed as “my personal treasures” in a
425-lot sale held in Center City Philadelphia in December 2005.
With many of the nation’s best known dealers and collectors in
attendance, highlights from her personal collection were offered
beginning with lot 369. Our May 2015 offering of coins from
the D Brent Pogue Collection Part I included a superb gem
1805 quarter eagle from Mrs. Bullowa ’s most famous sale. In
the present sale, two more of her prized pieces will be sold, the
finest known 1795 Flowing Hair dollar and this coin, one of the
finest surviving 1799 eagles. Mrs. BuUowa wrote “I have been
the loving keeper of these pieces for some 50 to 60 years. As in
every lifetime, there comes a time to share them with the rest of
the collecting world.” Her friend Anthony Terranova wrote the
2005 catalog, and described this coin in six memorable words:
“Original frosty, superb Gem Uncirculated. Breathtaking!”
Type collectors have long sought out 1799 eagles. The date
evokes an antiquity that even eagles dated a year later do not.
While 1799 is not technically the last year of the 18th century,
the American 18th century ended with the death of George
Washington on December 14, 1799. The Mint was likely
producing eagles that day, just a few blocks from Washington’s
former home in the shadow of the Pennsylvania State House,
then serving as the national seat of government, today called
Independence Hall. Nearly 6,000 eagles were delivered on
December 17, followed by 3,790 more on December 20 and a
final 18 pieces on December 28 before the curtain fell on the
1700s.
A duplicate of this quality may not be found in another
collection anywhere. PCGS-graded gems have sold at auction
just twice since this piece emerged from the Bullowa Collection
in 2005. Few early eagles of this date or any other can compare
in terms of overall quality
PCGS Population: 7, 3 finer (MS-66 finest). (Large Stars
Obverse)
Provenance: Catherine Bullowa Collection; Catherine Bullowa’s
(Coinhunter) sale of December 2005, lot 408.
Estimate: $175,000 - $225,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 237
1800 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-3+. Mint State- 63 + (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Eagles
Choice Mint State 1800 Eagle
Only Die Variety of This Date
Lot 2101. 1800 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-3+. Mint State-63+ (PCGS).
know of no coins of gold better executed than our eagles, nor of
silver than our dollars. ” — John Adams
to John Marshall, September 9, 1800
Nicely reflective on the obverse, aswirl with satiny lustre on
the reverse, this fine eagle presents consistent light yellow gold
toning throughout and is lovely to behold. Particularly boldly
struck, the centers of both sides are rich with delicate details.
Less focal areas that sometimes show weakness, like the tip of
Liberty’s cap and the arrow talon, are likewise fully defined. A
glass finds some natural granularity on the obverse, left of the
date near star 1, hugging the denticles above stars 12 and 13,
and scattered around the periphery and some areas of the fields.
Light lines are found with scrutiny, along with some trivial
marks like the nick low on Liberty’s cheek and the thin hairline
from star 7 to the back of the cap. The reverse is easily gem
quality in terms of both technical and aesthetic aspects. A light
natural struck-through flaw is seen at the second U of UNUM.
A thin vertical die crack descends through Liberty’s cap, clearly
a stress point on these dies and a common location of cracks in
this series, becoming nearly invisible before it reaches the denticles
at top and disappears into the hair behind Liberty’s ear at base. A
bolder crack emerges from the denticles left of E of LIBERTY,
descending clockwise to connect the tops of ERTY, and
connecting LIB more daintily the other direction. On the reverse,
a faint crack crosses the tail and runs along the bottom border of
the branch talon and the leaves to below R of AMERICA, while
another similarly light crack connects UNI of UNITED near
their bases. A clash from obverse denticles, an accident that befell
this reverse in its short-lived 1801 BD-1 marriage, is seen from the
wingtip at left to the tops of SEAT The clouds in this area show
hollowing, a byproduct of lapping that attempted to remove the
clashmarks but succeeded only in weakening them.
The die state sequence of this variety reveals that this
specimen, despite its 1800 date, was actually produced later than
the entire mintage of 1801 BD-1. Such hijinks make something
as simple as determining a mintage figure for a given year
complicated, but they also reward the careful study of the early
products of the United States Mint. The canonical mintage
figure for 1800 eagles is 5,999 coins, based upon delivery
warrants from that calendar year. John Dannreuther’s revised
estimate suggests that as many as 12,500 eagles dated 1800
could have been struck, most of them in 1801. All of these were
struck from a single combination of dies, employing a reverse
that was also used to strike 1799 BD-10.
John Adams was president in 1800, and as chief executive, he
heard from everyone who wanted something from the federal
government. When John Marshall, then secretary of state,
forwarded the petition from an individual who sought a contract
to produce coins for the United States (under the assumption
that the United States Mint would soon close), Adams put him
off. Writing from his home in Quincy, Massachusetts, Adams
told Marshall that the coins struck at the Mint in Philadelphia
were as good as any he’d encountered on his world travels.
Adams recalled his days in Paris, writing “the motto of the
hotel de Valentinois, in which I lived at Passy, was si sta bene,
non se move, [or] ‘if you stand well, stand still.’ The epitaph stava
ben ma por stare meglio sto qui, [translated as] ‘I was well, but by
taking too much physick to be better, lo here I lie’ is a good
admonition. I wiU not be answerable for the correctness of my
Italian .’’Adams, having seen eagles just like this one, preferred to
leave well enough alone.
Just as improving the United States Mint was a tall order in
1800, so too would be improving upon this choice 1800 eagle.
Referenced by Anthony Taraszka as one of the five finest he
had encountered, this likewise ranks among the five finest seen
by PCGS. Only a single coin graded finer by PCGS has sold at
auction in the last decade.
PCGS Population: 1, 3 finer (MS-64).
Publications: Taraszka, Anthony United States Ten Dollar
Gold Eagles 1795-1804, 1999, p. 57.
Provenance: RARCOA's session of Auction U 9, July 1979,
lot 1297, via Mike Brownlee.
Estimate: $60,000 - $90,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 239
1801 Bass Dannreuther-2. Rarity-2. Mint State-65 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Eagles
Gorgeous Gem 1801 Eagle
Tied for Finest Certified
Dannreuther-2. Rarity-2. Mint State-65 (PCGS).
Lot 2102. 1801 Bass
‘It is certain that the coin we now make is very imperfect. ”
— Robert R. Livingston to James Madison, June 13, 1801
Lively pale green tones highlight both satiny surfaces,
only lightly reflective on the obverse but deeply mirrored on
the reverse. The overall color is majestic deep yellow gold,
mellowing to near-orange in areas of the fields and peripheries
and attracting similar copper tones on some areas of the relief.
The strike has educed definitive detail from every intricacy of
the dies on both sides, which show every graver stroke and
every punch. The faintest evidence of planchet adjustment is
seen at the wingtip at left and just left of the tip of the tail,
though the attractive and regular parallel lines that underlie the
obverse fields in areas come from the same process. No heavy
marks are seen on either side, just the most minor lines and
gentle abrasions, and a pair of twinned natural planchet chips
between 18 of the date. The dies are uncracked but show some
evidence of a light clash, manifesting on the obverse in the
area between the two shoulder locks on Liberty’s portrait and
peeking out from beneath the bust truncation above 80 of the
date. On the reverse they appear over the eagle’s head, above US
of PLURIBUS, and at the left upper shield tip. Light lapping
has reduced the severity of the clashmarks but not measurably
affected any design details. The particularly reflective reverse
surface in this die state is a byproduct of the lapping process;
later states, as on the next example, received more lapping and
lose this reflective finish.
A coin this attractive makes Robert Livingston’s comment
to James Madison seem cryptic. Livingston, who was on
the committee that oversaw Jefferson’s authorship of the
Declaration of Independence, had a longstanding hobby interest
in steam power. Robert Fulton’s first steamship was named the
Clermont after Livingston’s estate on the Hudson, which served
as its home port. In 1801, two engineers working on steam
engines in Philadelphia, Benjamin H. Latrobe and Nicholas J.
Roosevelt, had approached Livingston to propose a system of
steam power for the United States Mint. Carrying the water
for this commercial concern, Livingston tried to sell Secretary
of State James Madison on the idea, suggesting that the Mint
was too expensive and made a subpar product. While Madison
had executive oversight of the Mint, he never responded to
Livingston’s entreaties.
While two die varieties are known with the 1801 date,
nearly all known specimens are from this combination. The
other 1801 variety suffered a total failure of both dies fairly
early in its life; today, that die marriage is rated Rarity-5. Many
hundreds of survivors exist from this die marriage, but not all of
the 44,344 eagles struck this year were dated 1801. Many were
dated 1800, including some with that date that used the reverse
die from 1801 BD-1 in a later die state. Dannreuther suggests
that there is a possibility some 1799-dated eagles may have even
been coined this year.
Blessed with special freshness and aesthetic appeal, this coin
stands out among the crowded field of 1801 eagles. When all
grades are considered, this is the easiest early eagle to acquire,
often selected by type collectors who can have their pick of
specimens in most states of preservation over the span of a few
years. As a gem, the rarity of this variety elevates dramatically,
and the MS-65 level represents the highest echelon reached by
an 1801 eagle seen by PCGS.
PCGS Population: 3, none finer.
Provenance: Larry Hanks, by sale, April 2008.
Estimate: $200,000 - $250,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 241
1801 Bass Dannreuther-2. Rarity-2. Mint State-64+ (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Eagles
The Matthew A. Stickney 1801 Eagle
Acquired Before 1854
Lot 2103. 1801 Bass Dannreuther-2. Rarity-2. Mint State-64+ (PCGS).
1854, Stickney was retired, and his coin collection was largely in
place. Only the adding of new issues, probably acquired at face value
from the Mint, caused it to grow. ” — Charles Davis
Another stellar specimen of this popular early eagle, an
aesthetic treat with especially attractive toning and abundant
swirls of satiny lustre on both sides. The obverse fields have
mellowed to a particularly appealing shade of deep frosty gold,
a contrast with the lighter yellow and sea green tones in the
lustrous canals around the stars and devices. The reverse toning
is a bit more even, showing less orange highlighting, but no
less beautiful and perhaps even more lustrous than its flipside.
The detail is superb everywhere but the center of star 11, lost
in the crowd and somewhat soft. A small gathering of tiny
marks are seen hidden amidst the center of Liberty’s portrait,
another on her throat, but most contact points are faint, wispy,
and unimportant to the dramatic visual appeal. Struck from a
later state that the previous specimen, showing just the slightest
evidence of clash hidden under star 12 in the reverse star cluster,
but with very heavy lapping lines emerging from Liberty’s cap
(called “vertical spines” by Harry Bass) and a larger area of
reflective polish between Liberty’s two shoulder locks.
The first owner of record of this coin, Matthew Adams
Stickney, was born in 1805. According to Farran Zerbe’s
1907 review of the Stickney catalog, “he became a collector
of coins as a young man, about 1823.” A recently published
biographical narrative by numismatic literature expert Charles
Davis indicates that Stickney was “well known up and down
the East Coast as the go-to man for coins” by 1840, regularly
receiving shipments of foreign and obsolete gold coins from
New York bullion brokers, from which Stickney could fish
rarities. More sophisticated avenues of acquisition also opened
to him, including trade with other early collectors and a
relationship with William Dubois, the Mint assayer who saw
all incoming deposits of bullion and likewise co-curated the
Mint Cabinet. After his coin collecting days were behind him.
Stickney published a great deal of research on New England
historical topics, worked on his genealogy, collected almanacs,
and engaged in other pursuits. Upon his death in 1895, his two
daughters inherited his collections; the coins were finally sold
at auction in 1907.
The mind reels considering this coin’s place in Stickney ’s
cabinet, choked with rarities from an original 1804 dollar and
a 1787 Brasher doubloon to complete proof sets from the year
1843 onward and near complete date sets of every United States
denomination. The presently offered coin could have been
acquired from a bullion broker, or in trade with the curators
of the United States Mint cabinet, or from a corresponding
collector who was active in the 1840s. Ten years before the end
of the Civil War, it was already in Stickney ’s home in Salem,
ensconced in a fine cabinet, surrounded by some of the finest
American coins that have ever been collected. It remained
there until the first decade of the 20th century. Untraced in
the interval between then and its reappearance in 1990, it may
have spent decades in a collection like those belonging to Virgil
Brand, Waldo Newcomer, or Col. E.H.R. Green, each of which
were dispersed privately in the mid 20th century.
Despite its status as a duplicate in the Pogue Collection, this
is one of the finest known specimens of the 1801 eagle issue.
PCGS has only ever rendered a higher grade to an example of
this date on three occasions, including their certification of the
specimen in the previous lot.
PCGS Population: 1, 3 finer (MS-65).
Provenance: Matthew Adams Stickney Collection, before 1854;
Miss Cornelia A. Stickney and Miss Lucy W Stickney, by descent,
1895; Henry Chapman’s sale of the Matthew A. Stickney Collection,
June 1907, lot 622; David Akers, by sale, July 1990.
Estimate: $100,000 - $150,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 243
1803 Bass Dannreuther-3. Ranty-4+. Large Reverse Stt
Mint State-65 (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Eagles
Fascinating Gem 1803 Extra Star Eagle
Finest Certified by PCGS
Lot 2104. 1803 Bass Dannreuther-5. Rarity-4+. Large Reverse Stars, Extra Star. Mint State-65
(PCGS).
beg leave through you to inform the President of the United States
that a dangerous malignant fever has again appeared in this city which
will oblige me to shut up the Mint for a short time. I perhaps might
have continued it open some little time longer, but having worked up
the bullion of every species and issued the coin, I have no hopes in
the present state of the city of anyone making afresh deposit, till the
alarm is over. ” — Elias Boudinot
to James Madison, September 16, 1803
Lush with originality and aswirl with satiny luster, this gem
shows deep golden toning on both sides, a bit more complex on
the reverse, with lively hints of sea green. The luster is powerfully
strong on both sides, barely affected by light scattered lines in
the obverse field. Liberty’s cheek shows a few minor abrasions,
but no heavy marks are seen. The strike is exceptional for the
date, a bit soft on the arrow talon and the centers of stars in
the reverse cluster, but still finely detailed throughout. Light
adjustment marks are seen, running southeast to northwest
on the left side of the obverse and southwest to northeast on
Liberty’s portrait. The aesthetic appeal is superb, presenting
freshness and frost much like this coin did when it first left the
Mint. The dies are in their early state, showing evidence of a
light clash at the base of L in LIBERTY and inside the right
side of the shield, between the second and the third gules, or set
of raised vertical stripes, from right. This state is uncracked, but
the distinctive die line often seen on this variety is present in the
wing at right, descending into the field through the ribbon end.
Though this die combination was known to early 20th
century researchers like Edgar H. Adams and Waldo Newcomer,
it was Harry Bass who first noticed the extra star, a tiny star
punched into the cloud beneath F of OF that is perhaps
a quarter as big as the standard stars found on the reverse of
an eagle. According to the Bass-Dannreuther book, Bass first
noticed this aspect in 1966, catalyzing his interest in numismatic
research while lending an additional layer of interest to this
popular variety.
No eagles were dated 1802, but over 15,000 pieces were
delivered that year. All, or nearly all, were probably dated 1801.
Far fewer eagles were delivered in 1803, with two warrants
totaling just 8,979 eagles. The first of these warrants was dated
August 19. No further eagles were delivered until November
19, a delay caused by the usual late summer arrival of the
dreaded yellow fever in Philadelphia. Any gold that arrived on
deposit after August 19 was coined into half eagles (1,454 of
them were delivered on September 14). Mint Director Elias
Boudinot then rushed to shutter the Mint’s doors and waited
for the “dangerous malignant fever to pass.” The coining of
1803 eagles continued into 1804, in fact, the very rare 1803
BD-6 variety was struck after the sole die variety bearing the
1804 date.
The eagles of 1803 have not survived in high grade in large
numbers. Of the 10 Small Reverse Stars 1803 eagles that have
been graded MS-63 or finer by PCGS, just one was graded
gem. The Large Reverse Stars pieces, representing just this
variety and the extremely rare BD-6, are even scarcer in high
grade, with just two coins graded finer than MS-63 by PCGS.
This is the sole PCGS MS-65 of the major variety and one of
just two MS-65 coins graded by PCGS of the entire date. Even
recognizing the Branigan coin that we sold in our August 2006
Old West and Franklinton Collections sale, an NGC MS-66
that has apparently not yet been graded by PCGS, the D. Brent
Pogue specimen is a strong candidate for the finest surviving
example of the date.
PCGS Population: 1, none finer. (Large Reverse Stars)
Provenance: Paramount (David Akers) , by sale. May 1986.
Estimate: $200,000 - $300,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 245
1804 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-4+. Crosslet 4. Mint State-63+ (PCGS)
The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part II — Eagles
The William H.Woodin 1804 Eagle
Edgar H. Adams Plate Coin, 1934
Lot 2105. 1804 Bass Dannreuther-1. Rarity-4+. Crosslet 4. Mint State-63+ (PCGS).
was for a long time identified with the collecting of United States
coins, particularly gold pieces covering the period from the opening
of the Mint until 1834, and was a close student of the many die
varieties. ” — Edgar H. Adams on William H. Woodin,
The Coin Collector’s Journal^ June 1934
The eagle of 1804 is a popular rarity, touched with the
mystique of one of the signal years in American numismatics. The
D. Brent Pogue specimen is preserved in an extraordinary state,
placing it among the very finest known. While its color, luster,
and surface are all superb, its strike separates it from the crowd.
The level of detail present on both sides makes this specimen
distinctive among typical specimens of this date, most of which
show a poorly defined profile of Liberty The design elements rest
on a backdrop of deepest yellow gold, luxurious and bold, yielding
to orange at the reverse periphery The fields are reflective, but
retain a measure of satiny cartwheel luster. The visual impact is
strong, positive, and memorable. Light lines are seen in the fields,
more on the obverse than the reverse. A mark between star 7 and
the base of Liberty’s cap is the most significant contact point,
though scatterings of minor marks are seen in the left obverse
field and hidden in the central obverse. On the reverse, a single
short abrasion is seen near the center of the shield.
The small mintage of 1804 eagles were all coined from a
single pair of dies, with no apparent advancement of the die state.
A light crack connects the first four stars to 1 8 of the date, while
the 0 shows other light cracks. Further cracks connect the centers
of UN to the tops of ITE, and U of UNITED to the eagle’s tail
and beyond to the second A of AMERICA. Spalling eruptions
are seen below B of LIBERTY, between ER, at the right serif of
T, and below star 9. The dies have been lapped after clashing, with
evidence of the clash remaining around the eagle’s head. Heavy
lapping lines are seen at the bust truncation, as on all known
examples, diminishing as they run clockwise around the lower
obverse periphery. A vertical ripple in the left obverse field is
the beginning of a die failure that likely condemned this obverse
to an early end. Some areas in the middle of Liberty’s portrait
have been polished and appear hollow, showing gaps of lustrous
reflectivity amidst the hair.
Though the published mintage for this date was 3,757 pieces,
that figure included eagles dated 1803, some of which were struck
after the pieces dated 1804. Not included were the Plain 4 1804
eagles, made from new dies and coined as presentation pieces in
1834. John Dannreuther has posited that the actual number of coins
struck with this famous date was as low as 2,500 coins, though
fewer than 100 survive in aU grades. In the years that followed
their production, most were exported as bullion; those that weren’t
were shabbily handled, making locating an attractive specimen
a challenge today. The only specimen of this issue graded finer
by PCGS shows significant adjustment marks on the profile. The
example whose quality is most similar is the Pittman specimen,
later offered in our 2005 sale of A Gentleman’s Collection. In the
1998 Pittman catalog, David Akers remarked that “the only other
example of comparable quality that I have seen is the Mack Pogue
coin which has been conservatively graded MS-63 by NGC.”
In 191 1, Thomas Elder offered this coin as part of the William
H. Woodin Collection, one of the first advanced cabinets of
United States gold coins formed with connoisseurship and
an advanced understanding of die varieties. Described as
“Uncirculated. Very rare, especially in this superb preservation,”
its disappearance from traceable auctions for decades thereafter
suggests that it was acquired by one of the great private
collections of the day: Waldo Newcomer, Virgil Brand, or Col.
E.H.R. Green. The reappearance of this special coin in the D
Brent Pogue Collection after a century makes for a fitting finale
to one of the finest sets of early eagles ever assembled.
PCGS Population: 1, 1 finer (MS-64). (Crosslet 4)
Publications: Adams, Edgar H. “Early United States Gold
Coins: Eagles,” The Coin Collector’s Journal, July 1934. Depicted
on page 89.
Provenance: William H. Woodin Collection; Thomas Elder’s
sale of the William H. Woodin Collection, March 1911, lot 1199;
Goliad Corporation (Mike Brownlee), by sale, November 1978.
Estimate: $150,000 - $225,000
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 247
Plan to Attend!
We invite you to join us for the auction of the
D. Brent Pogue Collection Part III
currently scheduled for
February 9, 2016 at 7 PM
to be held in the Sothebfs auction gallery.
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250 STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
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without limitation, the right to hold the purchaser liable for the
total purchase price, including all fees, charges and expenses more
fully set forth herein, we, at our option, may (x) cancel the sale
of that, or any other lot or lots sold to the defaulting purchaser
at the same or any other auction, retaining as liquidated damages
all payments made by the purchaser, or (y) resell the purchased
property, whether at public auction or by private sale, or (z) effect
any combination thereof. In any case, the purchaser will be liable
for any deficiency, any and all costs, handling charges, late charges,
expenses of both sales, our commissions on both sales at our
regular rates, legal fees and expenses, collection fees and incidental
damages. We may, in our sole discretion, apply any proceeds of sale
then due or thereafter becoming due to the purchaser from us or
any affiliated company, or any payment made by the purchaser to
us or any affiliated company, whether or not intended to reduce
the purchaser’s obligations with respect to the unpaid lot or lots,
to the deficiency and any other amounts due to us or any affiliated
companies. In addition, a defaulting purchaser will be deemed to
have granted and assigned to us and our affiliated companies, a
continuing security interest of first priority in any property or
money of or owing to such purchaser in our possession, custody
or control or in the possession, custody or control of any of our
affiliated companies, in each case whether at the time of the
auction, the default or if acquired at any time thereafter, and we
may retain and apply such property or money as collateral security
for the obligations due to us or to any affiliated company of ours.
We shall have all of the rights accorded a secured party under
the California Uniform Commercial Code.You hereby agree that
we may file financing statements under the California Uniform
Commercial Code without your signature. Payment will not be
deemed to have been made in full until we have collected good
funds. Any claims relating to any purchase, including any claims
under the Conditions of Sale, must be presented directly to us. In
the event the purchaser fails to pay any or all of the total purchase
price for any lot and we nonetheless elect to pay the Consignor
any portion of the sale proceeds, the purchaser acknowledges that
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 251
we shall have all of the rights of the Consignor to collect amounts
due from the purchaser, whether at law, in equity, or under these
Conditions of Sale.
11. Reserve. Unless otherwise announced. Lots in this catalogue
will be offered without a reserve. A reserve is a price or bid below
which the auctioneer will not sell a lot. No reserve will exceed
the low presale estimate stated in the catalogue, or as amended by
oral or posted notices.
12. Sales Tax. New York sales tax is charged on the hammer
price, buyer’s premium and any other applicable charges on any
property picked up or delivered in New York State, regardless
of the state or country in which the purchaser resides or does
business. Virtually all state sales tax laws require a corporation to
register with the state’s tax authorities and collect and remit sales
tax if the corporation maintains a presence within the state, such
as offices. In the states that impose sales tax, tax Laws require
an auction house, with a presence in the state, to register as a
sales tax collector, and remit sales tax collected to the state. Stack’s
Bowers is currently registered to collect sales tax in the following
states: California, Illinois, New York and Connecticut. For any
property collected or received by the purchaser in New York
City, such property is subject to sales tax at the existing New
York State and City rate of 8.875%. If the property is delivered
into any of the states in which Stack’s Bowers is registered, unless
otherwise exempted, we are required by law to collect and remit
the appropriate sales tax in effect in the state where the property
is delivered. Property collected from a New York premises by
common carriers on behalf of the purchaser for delivery to the
purchaser at his address outside of New York is not subject to
New York Sales Tax. If it is delivered by the common carrier
to any of the states where Stack’s Bowers is required to collect
sales tax, applicable tax will be added to the purchase price. Most
states that impose sales taxes allow for specified exemptions to
the tax. For example, a registered re-seller may purchase without
incurring a tax liability, and we are not required to collect sales tax
from such re-seller.
Please note that the purchase of any coin or bullion lot(s) with a
price, including the Buyer’s Premium, in excess of One Thousand
Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500) are exempt from California
sales tax. These exemptions do not apply to purchases of paper
money. The purchase of bullion in excess of One Thousand
Dollars ($1,000), and coins and paper money, are exempt from
Connecticut sales tax. Purchases of coins, bullion and paper money
are exempt from sales tax in Illinois. Please note, this is not, and is
not intended to be, a complete description of applicable sales tax
laws in all jurisdictions. In the event any applicable sales tax is not
paid by Buyer that should have been paid, even if such tax was not
collected by Stack’s Bowers by mistake, error, negligence or gross
negligence. Buyer nonetheless remains fully liable for and agrees
to promptly pay such taxes on demand, together with any interest
or penalty that may be assessed by the taxing authority.
As sales tax laws vary from state to state, we recommend that
clients with questions regarding the application of sales or use
taxes to property purchased at auction seek tax advice from their
local tax advisors.
13. Governing Law and Jurisdiction. These Conditions of
Sale, as well as bidders’, the purchaser’s and our respective rights
and obligations hereunder, shall be governed by and construed
and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of
California, except as may otherwise be required by applicable
law in the jurisdiction where the auction sale is conducted. By
bidding at an auction, whether present in person or by agent,
order bid, telephone, online or other means, all bidders including
the purchaser, shall be deemed to have consented to the exclusive
jurisdiction of the state courts of, and the federal courts sitting in,
the State of California. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we reserve
the right to commence a statutory inter-pleader in the state
and federal courts located in Dallas County, Texas, with respect
to disputes concerning the ownership of a lot or the proceeds
of any sale, which shall be at the expense of the Consignor and
buyer and any other applicable party, and in such event we shall
be entitled to our reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. All parties
agree, however, that we shall retain the right to bring proceedings
in a court other than the state and federal courts sitting in the
State of California or the State of Texas.
14. Packing and Shipping. We are not responsible for the
acts or omissions in our packing or shipping of purchased lots
or of other carriers or packers of purchased lots, whether or not
recommended by us. Packing and handling of purchased lots is
at the entire risk of the purchaser. All taxes, postage, shipping, if
applicable, handling, insurance costs, and any other fees required
by law to be charged or collected, will be the responsibility of the
buyer. All lots will be shipped FOB Destination, freight prepaid
and charged back. Any and all claims based upon buyer’s failure
to receive a purchased lot, buyer’s receipt of a lot in damaged
condition, or otherwise related to delivery, must be received in
writing by us no later than the earlier of thirty (30) days after
payment, or the date of the auction sale (the “Outside Claim
Date”). As Buyers may not receive notification of shipment, it is
buyer’s responsibility to keep track of the Outside Claim Date and
make timely notification of any such claim. The failure to make a
timely claim, time being of the essence, shall constitute a waiver
of any such claim.
15. Limitation of Liability. In no event will our liability to a
purchaser exceed the purchase price actually paid.
16. Data Protection. We will use information provided by our
clients (or which we otherwise obtain relating to its clients) for
the provision of auction and other related services, loan services,
client administration, marketing and otherwise to manage and
operate our business, or as required by law. This will include
information such as the client’s name and contact details, proof of
identity, financial information, records of the client’s transactions,
and preferences. Some gathering of information about our clients
will take place using technical means to identify their preferences
in order to provide a higher quality of service to them. We may
also disclose the client information to other Stack’s Bowers
252 STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S
Companies and/or third parties acting on their behalf to provide
services for these purposes.
17. General Post Auction Information.
• Payment. If your bid is successful, you can contact either Brian
Kendrella or Andrew Classman, (whose contact information is on
page iv), to make payment arrangements. Otherwise, your invoice
will be mailed to you. The final price is determined by adding the
buyer’s premium to the hammer price on a per-lot basis. Sales tax,
where applicable, will be charged on the entire amount. Payment
is due in full immediately after the sale. However, under certain
circumstances, we may, in our sole discretion, offer bidders an
extended payment plan. Such a payment plan may provide an
economic benefit to the bidder. Credit terms should be requested
at least one business day before the sale. However, there is no
assurance that an extended payment plan will be offered. Please
contact Brian Kendrella or Andrew Classman for information on
credit arrangements for a particular lot. Please note that we will
not accept payments for purchased lots from any party other than
the purchaser, unless otherwise agreed between the purchaser and
us prior to the sale.
• Payment by Cash. It is against our general policy to accept
single or multiple related payments in the form of cash or
cash equivalents in excess of the local currency equivalent of
US $10,000, if accepted for any cash transactions or series of
transactions exceeding $10,000, a Treasury Form 8300 will be
filed. It is our policy to request any new clients or purchasers
preferring to make a cash payment to provide: verification
of identity (by providing some form of government issued
identification containing a photograph, such as a passport, identity
card or driver’s license), confirmation of permanent address and
identification of the source of the funds.
• Payment by Credit Cards. We do not accept payment by
credit card for auction purchases.
• Payment by Check. Unless credit has been established with
us, you will not be permitted to remove purchases before the
check has cleared. Check acceptance privileges are reviewed
from time to time by us and may be granted or withdrawn at
our sole discretion. Checks should be made payable to Stack’s
Bowers Galleries. Certified checks, banker’s drafts and cashier’s
checks are accepted at our discretion and provided they are issued
by a reputable financial institution governed by anti-money
laundering laws. Instruments not meeting these requirements
will be treated as “cash equivalents” and subject to the constraints
noted in the prior paragraph titled “Payment by Cash”.
• Payment by Wire Transfer. To pay for a purchase by wire
transfer, please refer to the payment instructions provided on page
ii or contact Andrew Glassman to request instructions.
STACK’S BOWERS GALLERIES / SOTHEBY’S 253
Stack’s Bowers Galleries Sotheby’s
800.458.4646 West Coast Office Tel: 212.894. 1 193
800.566.2580 East Coast Office Fax: 212.606.7042
1063 McGaw Avenue Ste 100, Irvine, CA 92614 1334 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021
123 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019 Email: Coins@Sothebys.com • Sothebys.com
Pogue@StacksBowers.com • StacksBowers.com
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